A Fresh Start
by nyccountry
Summary: A story of drama and second chances
1. A Fresh Start Chapter 2

A Fresh Start

Chapter Two

Early Monday morning, Jeffrey is back at Beacon when his cell phone rings, picking it up he answers after he sees that it is Cassie.

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if you spoke to Alonzo yet."

"No, I just got up. I haven't even taken a shower yet."

"I know something is wrong Jeffrey. Alonzo has never avoided me like this."

"Alright, I'll call as soon as I get a shower and get dressed. We'll find out what's going on."

"Thank you." Cassie replies, clearly sounding relieved.

"I'll let you know what I find out."

"Thank you."

They hang up and Jeffrey goes to get a shower. About ten minutes later, he walks out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Reaching for his cell phone, he dials Alonzo's direct line. After a couple rings, a male's voice comes on the line.

"Prince William's private line, may I ask whose calling?"

"Who am I speaking with?"

"My name is Jodi, who is this?"

"This is Jeffrey O'Neill. I need to speak with Alonzo."

"His Highness is busy right now. I'll tell him…."

"No, I want to speak to him now." Jeffrey demands.

"He's in a meeting Sir."

"He'll want to speak to me. Now get him on the phone."

"Yes Sir, but he's not going to…"

"He won't care about the interruption, get him on the phone." Jeffrey replies, sounding more irritated by the second.

"Yes sir."

After putting Jeffrey on hold, Jodi pushes the intercom button. "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt but there is a Jeffrey O'Neill on the phone. He wishes to speak to you."

"Jeffrey, which line?" William asks.

"He's on your private line Sir."

"Thank you, Jodi." He replies. Pushing the button for his private line, he looks over at Camille. "I need to take this call in private."

"But…"

"Please Camille we'll finish this discussion later."

"Fine, but you're running out of time and you know it." Camille says, walking over to the door.

When she walks out and closes the door behind her, he pushes the button to connect the call. "Jeffrey, hello." William says. "I must say, I'm surprised to hear from you."

"I'm calling on behalf of Cassie."

"Cassie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong with her. But she's been trying to get in touch with you but the palace operator won't let her through."

"What, why? They know who she is. There's no reason for them not to put her through."

"I don't know, but she's worried about Will and she wants to talk to you. I think she wants to come down for the summer, take a break."

"I heard about you and her and then Josh."

"Yes, and I think everything is catching up with her and she needs a break. She wants to come down there. I think she wants to feel close to Richard again."

"Well, she's more than welcome. And I know Will would love to see her."

"I'll tell her to call."

"No, I'll call her. And I'll speak with Palace communications."

"She would appreciate it. Listen I would love to talk but I've got a very busy morning and I'm already running late for a press conference and I have a meeting I have to attend."

"Then I'll let you go and I'll be sure to call Cassie."

"Thank you… Oh, Alonzo before you go there's another thing I wanted to ask."

"Okay."

"Can you get a sample of Edmund's DNA?"

"Yes, we take a sample of every prisoner before they're put into prison, just in case we need it to identify them. May I ask why you need it?"

"It's personal, but it has to do with my daughter and something that happened along time ago before your father died."

"I'll have the warden at Edmund's prison send the sample we collected to the palace and I'll send it to you."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. And I'll call Cassie immediately and take care of the other matter as well."

"Thank you."

They hang up and Jeffrey calls Cassie at the farm. On the second ring she picks up. "Hello."

"Cassie its Jeffrey."

"Were you able to get through to Alonzo?"

"Yes, he should be calling you."

"Thank you; did he say what was wrong?"

"No but that he would look into it."

"Alright, I appreciate you calling him."

"You're welcome. I hate to call and run but I have a busy morning, so I need to get dressed."

"Of course, I'm sorry I take up so much of your time."

"It's alright. We'll talk again soon."

"Sure. See you around. And thank you."

"You're welcome." Jeffrey says and hangs up. Dressing quickly, he heads for City Hall.

The Governor is waiting when Jeffrey arrives. Holding out his hand, they shake hands as Jeffrey says, "I'm sorry I'm running behind this morning Governor, mayor." Jeffrey says, holding out his hand to shake it.

"It's alright, I just arrived myself. Are you ready?" The Governor asks.

"Yes sir." Jeffrey replies, as the Governor turns and walks towards the podium sitting in the center of the front doors of City Hall.

"Ladies and Gentleman, if you'll please take your seats we'll begin." The reporters move to sit down as Jeffrey takes his place beside the governor. "As many of you know the current mayor of Springfield was appointed to the office to cover for your elected Mayor, Mrs. Marler. As you also know, Mrs. Marler is currently in Cedars in coma and since her doctor can not specify a time as to when or if she will wake up. I have decided to step in and appoint a qualified person to the office.

Many of you will remember that Mr. O'Neill ran for and narrowly lost the mayors race last summer to Mrs. Marler. Given the information that has come to light since then about Mrs. Marler I have decided that she is not an appropriate candidate for the office. That being said, a permanent candidate must be appointed to the office. I have decided that Mr. O'Neill is that candidate and I am hereby appointing him to the office." The governor says turning and shaking Jeffrey's hand as photographers take pictures.

"Governor, what about the stories last summer that Mr. O'Neill raped a Ms. Olivia Spencer?"

"I have taken those stories into consideration but still feel that Mr. O'Neill is the appropriate candidate for the office. What happened between Ms Spencer and Mr. O'Neill is between them. But in my opinion what happened between Ms. Spencer and Mr. O'Neill was a terrible mistake between to very young teenagers and should not be considered when evaluating Mr. O'Neill's qualifications to be Mayor of Springfield."

"What about Ms Wolfe? Would she agree with that statement? I believe it was her word that forced you to decide to appoint our current Mayor." A reporter asks.

"I have since lost confidence in Ms. Wolfe's opinion and have instructed Mr. O'Neill to launch a full investigation into Ms. Wolfe's dealings, strictly on a professional manner." A murmur of shock runs through the gathered reporters. "I'll turn this conference over to Mr. O'Neill." The Governor says stepping back and letting Jeffrey step up to the podium.

"Mr. O'Neill, how do you feel about being named Mayor of Springfield?"

"I'm very pleased that the governor believes that I am the right person for the job and I look forward to helping Springfield reach its potential."

"What do you say to the people who still think you're a rapist?"

"I'm sorry they feel that way, but as the governor said, what happened between me and Ms Spencer was nothing more than a tragic and costly mistake and I hope that the citizens of Springfield will allow me to prove that I am worthy of being their Mayor."

"Would Ms. Spencer say that the rape was only a tragic and costly mistake?"

"Yes, I would." Olivia says, walking over to podium. "What happened between Jeffrey and I was a tragic mistake between two very young and immature teenagers. Jeffrey shouldn't be punished for something that we both did. I am as much responsible for what happened as Jeffrey." Olivia says, stepping back from the podium and walking away as Jeffrey watches her before turning back to the press conference

"I believe that concludes this press conference. Mr. O'Neill will take over the office effective immediately. Thank you for your time." The Governor says, turning to walk away.

Jeffrey follows the governor as he leaves the podium. The reporters began to talk among themselves as they filed out of City Hall. When they reach the mayor's office, the governor turns to Jeffrey and holding out his hand says. "Good luck."

"Thank you Governor and I appreciate the chance to work for the people of Springfield."

"You're welcome. Have you received any information from Detective Mallet?"

"Not yet, we're supposed to meet this afternoon."

"Okay, I have to get back to the capital. If you need anything feel free to contact my office."

"I will." Jeffrey replies, shaking the governor's hand for the final time.

Jeffrey is at Company having lunch when Olivia walks in. She starts to go over to him but then decides that maybe it was best if she doesn't. Looking up and realizing that Olivia has walked in he waits to see if she would come over to him. When she doesn't he gets up and goes to her.

"Olivia." Jeffrey says, leaning up against the counter.

"Jeffrey." She says, turning to face him.

"How did you know?"

"I overheard a couple of the reporters talking about the Governor and a press conference that he had called this morning and I thought it might have something to do with your meeting with him."

"I appreciate what you said?"

"I only told the truth."

"Yes, but you didn't have to and I appreciate it."

"You never would have lost the office if I hadn't've went after you." Olivia replies. "You're the right man for the job and I interfered with that."

Ava walks in at the moment, running over to Jeffrey she grabs him and hugs him tight. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ava asks when she releases him.

"The governor asked me not to say anything until the announcement was made. So, you like it?"

"Do I like it? My Dad's the mayor? Now I can get out of any parking tickets that I might get." Ava replies, hugging Jeffrey.

"I'm not fixing your parking tickets." Jeffrey replies, returning her hug.

"Come on, what's wrong with connections? We need to go celebrate." Ava says, turning to look at Olivia.

"I think I skip this one. You and Jeffrey go and celebrate."

"No, you need to go with us."

"I have to go get Emma at day camp." Olivia replies, turning to walk away.

"Mom."

"Let her go." Jeffrey says, walking over to his table.

"But…" Ava says, following him.

"She's right, it's better this way for now. We can still celebrate. You want to meet me at Towers tonight. I have a meeting in a few minutes with Mallet, but I'm free after that."

"Sure, I'll call Mike and see if you can talk Olivia into coming."

"It's okay about Mike, but don't expect Olivia to be there."

"You're meant…."

"No, we're not. We're better off as friends. Just like you and Coop are better off as friends. There's something I wanted to talk to you about anyway, so I'm glad you're here." Jeffrey says, sitting down at his table.

"Okay, what?" Ava asks, sitting down across from him.

"I talk to Alonzo…"

"Who?"

"Edmund's half brother."

"What about him?"

"I talked to him this morning and I asked him to send me a sample of Edmund's DNA."

"Why?"

"Because we need to find out for sure if I'm your father or not and a DNA test…."

"But I don't care, in my mind you're my father."

"I know and I appreciate that. But for my own peace of mind I need to know exactly what happened that night in San Cristobel. I need to know if I'm responsible for yours and Olivia's pain, or if Edmund is truly the one that raped her that night."

"Alright, when will the sample be here?"

"In a couple days, Alonzo has to contact the warden where Edmund is being held and he's got a couple of other matters to take care of."

"Okay, just let me know when it arrives and we'll do a DNA test." Ava says, as Mallet walks up to the table.

"Hello Jeffrey, Ava."

"Mallet." Jeffrey replies, looking up.

"Detective." Ava says, standing up. "I'll let you have your meeting, and I'll see you at Towers tonight."

"Yes." Jeffrey replies, standing up and giving her a quick hug before she walks away. "So, what have you found out so far?" Jeffrey says, sitting back down as Mallet takes the chair across from him.

"Not a whole lot, Doris covers her tracks well."

"I would expect nothing less from her."

"Did you talk to your contact in the agency?"

"No, I've been busy with other things."

"Yes, I saw the press conference this morning."

"There's that and other stuff." Jeffrey replies, as Ashley comes over, refilling his coffee cup.

"Do you know what you're going to do first?"

"First, I'm going to complete this investigation into Doris and the DA's office. I don't think that any of the people working under her is involved in whatever Doris is involved in, but I want you to check them all out thoroughly."

"I will, I've talked to a few but so far, they are sticking to the story that they have never seen Doris take a bribe from anyone."

"Yes, well she can be quite intimidating."

"Shouldn't we start questioning people in Spaulding?"

"No, they're even more closely knit than the DA's office and I don't think that anyone at Spaulding knows about whatever arrangement Alan has with Doris. Let me talk to my contact at the agency. Once we find Gillespie, I'm sure we will be closer to finding the connection between Alan and Doris."

"Alright, I'll keep looking into the DA's office and when your contact gets something let me know." Mallet says, standing up, followed by Jeffrey.

"I will." Jeffrey replies, walking over to the counter to pay for his coffee. He and Mallet leave Company. Ashley watches them go. She is about to go back to wiping off the counter when Coop walks up her.

"Go."

"Excuse me."

"Whatever you need to tell Jeffrey, go tell him."

"I can't… if I talk to him…"

"This has to do with Doris."

"Yes."

"You know something."

"Maybe." Ashley replies, reaching for the towel, but Coop pulls it away. "If you know something, you need to tell him."

"She's my mother."

"And look at how she's treated you Ashley. She left you in jail, only came to see once the whole time you were in there, tried to make the public think you were unstable, just so your conviction wouldn't hurt her. She has done nothing but put you down."

"She's still my mother."

"Yes, she is. But has she ever treated you like her daughter. Go talk to him. It might make you feel better."

"Alright, fine. I'll go." Ashley says turning and walking towards the door.

Jeffrey is almost to his truck when he hears someone calling his name. Turning he is surprised to see Ashley walking towards him.

"Ashley?" He says when she stops beside the truck.

"I need to talk to you."

"I've got a meeting…"

"Please I need to do this now."

"Okay, you want to go back in and talk."

"No, let's go to the Beacon."

"Okay." Jeffrey says, opening the door for her before he walks around the truck and they leave. About ten minutes later, he and Ashley walk into Olivia's. Taking a seat in the corner, Jeffrey waves the waiter away as he turns to Ashley. "You wanted to tell me something?" He asks.

"I don't know if this will help you, but I over heard you talking to Mallet about my mom."

"Yes."

"I know some things, some things that won't look good for her if they come out. We all know that Doris and Alan Spaulding are pretty close friends, but Alan didn't exactly bribe her."

"What do you mean?"

"Alan would call her at night after she would be off and they would discuss things."

"What sort of things?"

"Things pertaining to different cases that Spaulding were involved in."

"Did you ever hear them talk about pay off's?"

"No, but on the nights that Alan would call they would make a dinner date. She would make a date with Alan and then a few days later, she'd come home with something expensive, a new bracelet, earrings, necklace, usually diamonds or new suit or shoes. There were several times when Alan would help with something that pertained to school, especially if she had been showing up with too much stuff. I'm not sure who was actually offering and who would accept."

"And these gifts were from Alan Spaulding?"

"Yes, there was no way on her salary that she could afford some of the things she has, even if she did buy them on sale."

"Did you ever see Alan give her one of these gifts?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"After school I would go to Doris's office. She always said she couldn't afford day care. One afternoon, Alan was waiting for us when we came back from school. I was supposed to be in the conference room doing my homework, but I finished early so I was in Mom's outer office and Alan came out with Mom following behind him. She was holding and envelope, they shook hands and then Alan left. He looked at me for a few seconds before he left. I had a trip for choir coming up, Doris said we didn't have the money, but after that day we suddenly did. That's the only time I ever actually saw them together."

"When she would have these conversations did you ever hear what was said?"

"No, she would always go into the other room. But when she came back she would tell me that she would be home late the next night."

"So, how do you know for sure that she was meeting Alan on these evenings?"

"She would tell me about the evening when she would come home."

"She would tell you that she was having dinner with Alan."

"Yes, she would make up some excuse for the meeting, but she would tell me."

"I'll have to tell Mallet to look into the gifts."

"I know."

"Thank you for telling me Ashley. I know it must have been difficult to do."

"You're welcome, but she's not above the law, just as I wasn't above the law. If she's done something wrong, she has to pay the price." Ashley replies, standing up.

"Do you want a ride back to Company?"

"No, I'll call Coop."

"Okay." Jeffrey replies. Ashley leaves, followed by Jeffrey

After getting off the phone with Cassie, William decides to go talk with the head operator in palace's communications. As he walks in, every one of the operators stands up.

"Everyone carry on." William says, as he walks through the room, knocking once he opens the door to the head of Palace Communications.

"Your Highness." The man says, standing immediately as William walks in and closes the door behind him.

"Mr. Wallace." William says, walking over to the man's desk and sitting down in front of it.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

"I need some information."

"Yes Sir."

"It has been brought to my attention that the communication's staff hasn't been putting through all of my calls."

"Sir."

"My sister-in-law has been trying to contact me for the last week and she has been given to run around each time she calls. I want to know why?"

"I don't know Sir. The staff knows to forward all calls from the former Princess directly to you. That is protocol."

"Apparently someone is not following protocol."

"I'll look into it immediately."

"See that you do, and I want to be informed of the individual that wasn't following protocol and why."

"Yes Sir."

Getting up, he walks to the door. He's about to walk out when he stops "And Mr. Wallace I want you to make it clear to all the staff that any call from Cassie is to be forwarded to me at any time."

"Yes Sir."

"Thank you, Mr. Wallace." Alonzo replies, leaving the office. Again everyone stands as he walks by.

When Alonzo leaves the communications room, Mr. Wallace pulls each operator into his office and after talking to several individuals it is clear what had happened. Alonzo is walking into his office when his assistant stops him.

"Sir, its Mr. Wallace on line one."

"I'll take it in my office." He replies, walking through the outer office. Picking up his desk phone he pushes the button for line one, connecting the calls as he sits down behind his desk. "Mr. Wallace, that was quick."

"This is a severe breach of protocol Sir. I wanted to make sure the corrections were made as soon as possible."

"Did you make the corrections?"

"Yes Sir, I spoke with several of the operators and found the problem."

"And?"

"Everyone stated that they were ordered not to forward any of the Princesses calls Sir."

"Ordered! by whom?"

"By Prince William's mother, Sir."

"Camille ordered that Cassie's calls not be forwarded."

"Yes Sir, the staff tried to tell her that this was against protocol but she insisted. She told the staff that you had approved the order."

"Thank you Mr. Wallace. I'll take it from here."

"Yes Sir."

"Mr. Wallace, be sure to inform the staff that unless such orders in future come in writing with my personal seal they are not to be followed."

"I will, Sir." Alonzo hangs up and then immediately buzzes his assistant.

"Yes Sir."

"Send one of the maids to get Camille, immediately!"

"Yes Sir."

Ten minutes later, there is a soft knock on his office door and then the door opens and Camille walks in.

"Alonzo, darling."

"Sit down Camille." Alonzo says, pointing to the chair in front of his desk.

"What's wrong? Will and I were…"

"Never mind that, I just had a very interesting conversation with the head of Palace Communications and he told me something very interesting…"

"Let me explain."

"As you know, I allowed you back in the country so you could develop a relationship with our son. I also made it clear before you came that you were not to interfere with Palace business."

"How is Cassie Winslow, palace business?"

"She's Will's mother."

"No! I am Will's mother."

"You gave him up Camille, and Cassie is the only mother Will has ever known."

"That's not my fault. If you hadn't've given him to Richard and Cassie he would know both of us."

"And if you hadn't've manipulated me into taking the throne. Richard would probably still be alive and Will could have known both of his father's."

"You were turning your back on your birthright and Richard was a fool."

"Don't you ever speak of my brother that way, do you understand?" William says, getting up and walking over to the window beside his desk. "I may have been born in this palace but I wasn't raised to be Prince, Richard was. I have grown accustom to my life, and being Prince but this is what Richard was born to do, and your manipulations took that away from him."

"You always did sell yourself short William."

"No! I'm honest, but it doesn't matter now. Richard is dead, Will is here and so will Cassie with RJ by the end of the week."

"No! If you let Cassie come down here I'll never be able to bond with Will."

"Cassie is not going to keep Will from bonding with you. She's not even going to be here at the Palace."

"Of course she is. She's the former Princess. She's not going to stay at a hotel."

"You're right, she's not. She's staying at the villa that Richard bought for them, just up the coast. She doesn't want to be involved with Palace life right now. She's coming down here to relax. She's been through a lot since Richard's death. You probably won't even see her."

"She will be over here everyday, and as long as she is, I'll never be able to get close to Will."

"You're being irrational Camille. Cassie is no threat to you having a relationship with Will."

"I don't want her around my son."

"He's Cassie's son too, and I won't keep him away from her. Now you can accept that or you can go back to Iowa."

"You still have a thing for her."

"I do not. Cassie and I are friends and she's Will's mother."

"I am Will's mother." Camille shouts, jumping up. William turns from the window. "I won't allow her to see my son. I'll do whatever I have to do to keep that slut away from my son."

There was several seconds of silence as William and Camille stare at each other. Slowly he walks to the door that leads to the hallway from his office, never taking his eyes off Camille, as he opens the door. "Could you come in here please?" William asks, motioning to one of the guards standing outside his office.

"Yes Sir." The guard replies, following him into his office

"I want you to escort Ms. Johnson to her room and I want you to wait there while she packs…"

"Packs?" Camille asks

"And then I want you to escort her to the private airstrip, inform the pilot the he is to fly…"

"William, I'm not…"

"…Ms. Johnson back to Iowa…"

"William!"

"I want you to stay until the plane takes off." Alonzo commands.

"Yes Sir." The guard replies, walking over to Camille.

"William, I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are. You shouldn't've threatened Will or Cassie."

"William please what are you going to tell Will?"

"I'll tell him that you had to go back to Iowa. Do not contact me again about him?"

"He's my son."

"No, he's my son and Cassie's son and he's heir to the throne. This was your last chance Camille. Take her away." Alonzo commands as the guard takes Camille by her arm and leads her from the room.

"William!" Camille calls, as she is led down the hallway.

A few days later, Cassie arrives in San Cristobel. William arranges for one of the palace drivers to meet her at the airport and to take her to the Santos villa. For the next few days, Cassie stays in the villa. She speaks a few times with William, but for the most part it was her and RJ. Just being in San Cristobel seems to have calmed her. Knowing that she is in Richard's home, in their homeland, she feels closer to the man that she has missed for the last five years. The only thing that would make this better is if Tammy were here with her.

Ava is waiting when Jeffrey walks into Towers. Spotting her at a table close to the balcony, he walks towards her. He is stopped several times by different people, some he knew, like Reva and Josh, Dinah, Gus and Harley, and some he doesn't know but all of them wish him well. By the time he reaches Ava's table, he almost falls into his chair.

"Exhausting being so popular." Ava asks, smiling.

"Yes, I don't know half those people." Jeffrey replies, looking around the restaurant at the rest of the people that are watching him.

"I think its part of being mayor, Dad. I see you didn't bring Olivia."  
"Ava, I told you…"

"I know. Its better this way, but I still think…"

"Ava, I know it's every child's dream that their parents will get back together. But Olivia and I were never a couple. We were a one night stand that never should have happened. We were both young and we were both too drunk to know what we were doing. I've got too much going on in my life to deal with your mother and her moods."

"I know she can be difficult, but there is something there."

"No, there's not. She can't get past what happened that night."

"But you're not responsible for that."

"Responsible, or not, she still sees it in me. Even when she knows that there is a possibility that I wasn't the one that raped her. She still sees that night when she looks at me."

"Okay, so what are you going to do now?"

"I'm mayor. I've got a lot to keep me busy."

"But what about love?"

"Love, love is something I…"

"Don't say you don't have time."

"Right now, I don't."

At that moment, their waiter walks up to their table with a bottle of champagne. "Sir, courtesy of Mr. Alan Spaulding." He says, sitting the bottle down on the table.

"Tell him, no thank you." Jeffrey says, handing the bottle back to the waiter.

"Jeffrey, that's a $700 bottle of champagne." Ava says, looking at the bottle.

"Yes, I know. But it comes with more than just friendly congratulations." Jeffrey says, looking over at Alan, who is sitting at the bar. "More than either one of us could afford." He finishes, turning back to Ava.

"Alright so how about we order our own bottle of champagne. This is a celebration."

"That sounds like a good idea." Jeffrey replies, raising his arm to get the waiters attention. When he arrives, Jeffrey asks. "Could you bring us a bottle of champagne? Nothing as expensive as what Mr. Spaulding just sent us, but something just as good."

"Yes Sir." The waiter replies, leaving the table as Jeffrey turns back to Ava.

"So, where's Mike?"

"He had something to do tonight. Speaking of Mike, are you going to be the Rock'n Mayor." Ava asks, with a smile.

"I don't know. I don't even know if I'll have time to do anything let alone play, but we'll see what happens."

"I think it would be fun to see the Mayor be the main attraction at the fireworks display for the Bauer BBQ. Speaking of the Bauer's what's going to happen to Mel."

"She has a temporary attorney to cover my cases, until she finds someone more permanent. I never thought I would get here." Jeffrey says, looking around the room. "I never thought my life would turn out this way. I had absolutely no idea how I wanted my life to go when I was your age. I had no idea what I wanted until I met… Richard. I never believe I could be something, or someone."

"You can do anything you want to do. Who else were you thinking about?"

"No one." Jeffrey says, shaking his head. "And I know that now, but when I was younger I didn't. It took the agency and Richard's faith in me to turn me around."

"The agency lied to you."

"Yes, they did, but they also helped me. They brought me under control, taught me discipline and control, taught me about consequences for your actions."

"So, what will be the first thing you do as Mayor?"

"Besides Doris, I don't really know."

"You better have something to do."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"About Springfield, I hadn't thought about it. But did you see the news tonight?"

"No, I was busy. Why, what happened?"

"Huh."

"The news?"

"Oh, there was a story about a child that was found dead in her crib by her mother."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. The police are looking into it."

"They'll find out what happened, and if charges need to be brought they will be."

"That's not what I was thinking, what if there was a place that she could have gone or been taken to that would protect her."

"You mean a shelter."

"Sort of, more like a home with psychologists and counselors to help her heal and protect her rights."

"It's an interesting idea. Where did it come from?"

"I had a friend that was abused by her father. She's been in and out of trouble, all of her life. On an off drugs, all because no one tried, or cared about helping her."

"I'll look into it."

"Okay." Ava replies, as the waiter returns with their champagne.

"Here you are Sir." He says, opening the bottle and pouring Jeffrey and Ava a glass. "Would you like to order now?"

"Are you ready?" Jeffrey asks.

"Yes." Ava replies.

"I'll have a steak, medium rare, bake potato, and salad." Jeffrey orders, handing the waiter his menu

"I'll have the Chicken Cordon Bleu, a salad as well and stemmed vegetables." Ava says, handing the waiter her menu.

When the waiter left, Ava raises her glass. "To the new Mayor of Springfield."

"Thank you." Jeffrey replies, raising his glass. "Would you like to dance?" He asks, putting his glass down.

"I would love to."

Standing, he holds out his hand. Standing up, Ava moves into his arms, slowly they began to dance.

After their dance, they go back to their table and a few minutes later their food arrives. After eating they dance a few more dances before they leaves. Jeffrey drops Ava off at her room before going to his.

He needs to sit down and think about the next few days, prioritizing his schedule for the next few months as well as to think about all the information that Ashley had given him that afternoon about Doris. He knew that there was connection between Doris and Alan. He knew that Doris was guilty; he just had to prove it. "The first thing I need to do is to contact Jamison, he can contact the Australian government and get them started on finding Gillespie."

Walking over to the bed, he sits down on the side of it and opens the drawer of his night stand. Picking up the receiver inside he waits for someone to come on the line. After a couple of clicks, a voice comes on the line.

"May I help you?"

"Foreign Intelligence, please." Jeffrey replies, after another couple of clicks another voice came on.

"May I help you?"

"Col. O'Neill, I need to speak to Lt. Jamison, please."

"Yes Sir."

Another couple clicks and Lt. Jamison answers. "Lt. Jamison."

"Steve, its Jeffrey."

"Hey, how are you."

"Good, been busy."

"Yes, I heard, Mayor of Springfield. I never pegged you as the small town type."

"I didn't either. Listen I need a favor."

"Okay."

"You still have connections in the Australian government?"

"Yes."

"I need you to get in touch with them. I need to find someone."

"Okay. Who?"

"It's a guy name Gillespie. He was deported earlier this year after a hit and run accident, involving a young girl here in Springfield. The girl was killed. He has connections to Alan Spaulding and Doris Wolfe and I need to know the details of the deal he made to avoid prosecution."

"Wouldn't that be on file, any formal deal…"  
"It wasn't a formal deal. We believe that Doris made a deal with Gillespie to keep Alan Spaulding's name out of his confession."

"I'll get on it. By the way, how did you get to keep your private line after the Mayor's race last year?"

"After Ditkin's attempt on my life and the fact that I didn't go running to the press about his threats, the agency decided that I wasn't a security risk after all."

"Good."

"Thank you and take care of that matter for me."

"I will and I'll be in touch when I hear back from my contacts in Australia."

"I'll talk to you then." Jeffrey hangs up and heads for the shower.

2.15


	2. A Fresh Start Chapter 1

A Fresh Start

Chapter One

When Jeffrey left Olivia's suite, he decided to not to stay at the Beacon. Going up to his room, he grabs a change of clothes and heads to his loft. For some reason, instead of feeling sad about the break up, he feels relief. Lying down on the couch, he closes his eyes and falls asleep. The next morning he doesn't wake up until someone knocks on his door. Getting up, he answers the door on the second knock.

"Ava, hi." He says, holding the door open to let her in.

"Did you sleep in your clothes?" Ava asks, as she walks in.

"Yea, I guess I did." Jeffrey replies, closing the door behind her. "How did you know I was here?"

"I went by your room and you weren't there and Mike told me about this place so I thought I would check here."

"You want some coffee." Jeffrey asks, walking into the kitchen.

"Yea, that would be nice. By the way, do you know what day it is?"

"Umm, June 17th I think." Jeffrey calls, as he fills up the coffee pot.

"That's right, it's also Father's day." Ava says, walking into the kitchen.

"It is."

"Yes, and I thought we could spend it together with Olivia."

"Ah, there are a couple things I need to tell you." Jeffrey says, walking into the living room.

"What?" Ava asks, following him.

"First, Olivia and I broke up last night."

"What, why?"

"We can be friends. You'll still have us both, but she's never going to get past what happened, and I'm tired of trying to get her too. There are just some things that a person can't make happen."

"But I thought everything was alright between you too."

"I'll admit I've been thinking this for a while. Every time we got close to being together, she pulled away. Always came up with some sort of excuse for us to wait. I'm tired of fighting her. And yesterday was the final straw."

"What happened yesterday?"

"After we left the lake, we went to Cassie's farm so I could take Emma riding. I got a call from Cassie early yesterday morning and Olivia overheard it, so while I was in the barn helping RJ saddle a horse for me and Emma, she and Cassie were in the house. I walked in on her and Cassie and she's grilling Cassie about the conversation we had that morning and marking her territory. And when I asked her about who she called after you said that your phone hadn't rang, she said she called to talk to someone at the Beacon about a deal she's making. I checked her phone, she didn't call you and she didn't call the Beacon, she called Josh. And I realized that it would always be this way. We sort of had an argument after I confronted her about grilling Cassie and she left."

"So, you think it's over."

"I know it's over. I don't need her drama in my life right now, especially with the changes coming up for me. It's better this way."

"You said there were a couple things you wanted to talk to me about."

"Yes, about that. It has to do with Father's day."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this either?"

"Some things have come up and it might be better if we wait to next year to celebrate father's day."

"Why? It's today and you're my father."

"Maybe, we should wait and discuss this when Olivia is here."

"Just tell me!"

"Alright, there's a chance, a slim chance that I might not be your father."

"What?" Ava says, jumping up "Of course you're my father, you and Olivia, and that night at the embassy." She says, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the couch.

"Some new information has come to light about that night."

"What information? Why are you doing this? You're my dad." She asks, stopping to look at him before she begins to pace again.

"I'm not trying to hurt you Ava. I love you but there is a possibility that I'm not your father." Jeffrey replies standing up and reaching out to stop her pacing, turning her towards him.

"What did you say?"

"I said there's a poss…"  
"No, before that."

"I said I love you."

"Then why are you saying you're not my father."

"Here, sit down and I'll explain." Jeffrey says, taking her hand and leading her back over to the couch. "Everything that you know about me and your mother and what happened in San Cristobel is the truth. I did meet her at a party at the US embassy, we were drinking and I did take her upstairs, but that's where things get a little fuzzy, and my memory differs from that of Olivia's."

"Why are you saying this now? Why didn't you say something when this all happened?"

"I don't know, maybe I felt guilty for all the things I had done when I younger and maybe I believed that I did rape her, the agency certainly had me convinced that I had done something that night. Although my memories didn't quite jive with their account, could I really say for certain that I didn't take advantage of her?" Jeffrey says, walking into the kitchen. Taking down a couple of cups he pours him and Ava a cup of coffee, carrying them both back into the living room.

"Okay, so your memory and Olivia's are different that still doesn't explain why you think you may not be my father." Ava says, taking the coffee.

"There's more."

"What?"

"Do you remember Edmund Winslow?"

"Yeah, Tammy and Jonathan's uncle, he's Richard Winslow's brother. He was married to Cassie for a while."

"That's right and he was at the embassy party that night."

"Okay."

"I was introduced to Edmund before the party started and I didn't get a good vibe from him. By the time Olivia arrived I was more than a little drunk. But I had to leave her a few times to take care of stuff for the Ambassador and every time I came back Edmund would be harassing her. I would chase him off till the next time and we did this through out the night."

"But how does that make you not my father?"

"When I took Olivia up to that room, we were fooling around and she passed out. After she passed out, The Ambassador's bodyguard came looking for me and he quickly realized that I was in no condition to handle the Ambassador's daughter so he offered to cover for me. I went back to Olivia and she was still passed out so I went to sober up before the Ambassador found me and I got fired."

"You weren't supposed to be drinking that night."

"No, I was on duty." Jeffrey replies, with a bit of a cocky smile. "Anyway, I left Olivia alone for about an hour and a half. But before I left for the night, I went to check on her. I thought she was still passed out until I sat down beside her and that's when we… well, you know."

"So, you left her for about an hour and a half and that's when you think Edmund…"

"Yes."

"Did you see him up there? Did he follow you up there?"

"I don't know. We were pretty drunk that night. But I swear that when I was with Olivia, it was consensual."

"You don't know for sure that Edmund was with Olivia."

"Yes, we do. After the party, Prince George approached the agency I used to work for and asked them to take care of a problem his son had created. And after seeing the videotape of me and Olivia going up to the room they decided to make me the fall guy for whatever Edmund had done."

"How did Prince George find out? Was he at the party?"

"For a while, but he left right after Olivia arrived. I don't know how he found out. Maybe one of his advisors found out, saw Edmund leaving the room and told his father. That doesn't matter. The point is…"

"The point is that you were accused of something you didn't do."

"Maybe not this time, but I certainly went upstairs that night with the intention of sleeping with her. I knew she was drunk and I knew she wasn't as old as she was pretending to be."

"So you were prepared to take advantage of her."

"Yes." Jeffrey replies sheepishly.

"And that's why you never said anything about what happened being consensual between you. You felt guilty because you had every intention of doing what Edmund may have done."

"No, I would never rape a woman. But yes, I did feel guilty because I was willing to take advantage of the situation. So since there is a possibility that I'm not your father, maybe we should skip Father's day this year."

There are a few minutes of silence before Ava says. "No, you're still my father and I want to celebrate with you."

"What about Edmund?"

"What about him? I don't even know him."

"He could be your father."

"We'll worry about that later." Ava replies, scooting over and giving him a hug as Jeffrey's cell phone rang. Picking it up, Jeffrey glances at the caller ID and then shows it to Ava. "Answer it." She says, nodding towards the phone

"She might want to…."

"Try and talk you into coming back to her."

"Yes."

"It's up to you." Ava says as she goes to get them both a fresh cup of coffee as Jeffrey answers the call.

"Olivia."

"I wasn't sure if you would answer."

"I wasn't going to…thank you." Jeffrey says, taking the fresh cup of coffee from Ava.

"You're welcome. Do you want me to go?" Ava asks, as Jeffrey shakes his head no.

"Who is that?" Olivia asks

"Ava."

"Oh, I wanted to talk…."

"There's nothing for us to say."

"What is Ava doing over there?"

"She wanted to talk to me about Father's day."

"Did you tell her?"

"Yes."

"You told her without me being there."

"Yes."

"I thought we were going to tell her together."

"We were, but after the subject came up and she insisted that I tell her."

"So, you just told her. She's my daughter too."

"This isn't a contest Olivia. She was upset, so I told her.

"You're right, I'm sorry. How did she take it?"

"She was upset and confused at first, but I think she understands."

"What did she say about Father's day?"

"She still wants to celebrate."

"And Edmund."

"She said we'd see about that later."

"Alright." Olivia says, obviously relieved "Emma was asking about you. She wants to go riding again."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you were busy today."

"Okay, but…."

"I know I need to explain to her that you're not going to be around anymore, but I couldn't tell her, not today. Its father's day and she doesn't have a Dad. I thought maybe you would…."

"No, I'm sorry about Emma, but Olivia it's better for all of us this way, especially Emma."

"I don't…."

"Olivia, I'm not going to argue about this. Ava's here and I need to get dressed so we can go."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. We haven't discussed it."

"We could…."

"No, it's better if we don't see each other for awhile. You need to take care of whatever is going on with you. We'll talk another time."

"Okay."

They hang up as Jeffrey turns to Ava. "You want to go get some breakfast."

"Sure, Company?"

"Alright, let me get a shower and we'll go."

"Okay."

Jeffrey goes to get a shower. About twenty minutes later, they leave for company.

Buzz is behind the counter when Jeffrey and Ava walk in. Buzz's feelings towards Jeffrey have begun to thaw over the last few weeks as the feelings he had for Olivia began to fade, but he isn't quite ready to forgive him just yet.

"Hi, Buzz." Ava says, as they walk by the front counter.

"Hi Ava, Jeffrey." He replies.

"Buzz." Jeffrey replies, following Ava to one of the booths.

"Things seem to have thawed between you and Buzz." Ava says, sitting down across from him.

"Yes, he seems to have mellowed over the last few days." Jeffrey replies, as Ashley comes up to take their order.

"Good morning, what can I get you?" She says, smiling brightly

"You're in a good mood." Jeffrey says.

"Yes, yes I am. How are you Ava?"

"I'm fine, how's Coop?"

"He's fine. We spent the weekend together up at Laurel Falls."

"Really."

"Yes, we had a very nice time."

"I'm glad. I'll have omelet and toast." Ava replies, handing Ashley her menu.

"What would you like to drink?" Ashley asks, taking the menu

"Orange juice will be fine, and can you bring me some fruit.

"And I'll have two eggs, over easy, bacon and sausage and toast, coffee to drink." Jeffrey says, handing Ashley his menu.

"Alright, I put this in and we'll have it out in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Ashley." Jeffrey says. She walks away and Jeffrey turns to Ava, watching her.

"What?"

"That doesn't bother you."

"What?"

"Coop and Ashley."

"No, he's free to do whatever he wants to do." Ava replies, shrugging her shoulders.

"Really, I thought you were interested in getting Coop back."

"No, that's ship has sailed. Besides…."

"You're interested in Mike."

"Yea, I really like him."

"Just be careful, I know him and he can be a bit of a player."

"This coming from the guy whose little black book had every page full."

"How do you know what my little black book has in it?"

"I don't, but I do know your reputation."

"Yes, well…." Jeffrey shrugs his shoulders. "I can't help it if the ladies love me." He says, with a dazzling smile.

"What did Olivia want?"

"To talk, Emma wanted to know if we could go riding again."

"Oh, so are you going to take her?"

"No, it's better if she doesn't get attached to me. She needs to know that I'm not going to be around anymore, besides, we have Father's day to celebrate."

"So what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. I've never celebrated Father's day before." Jeffrey says, as Ashley brings their breakfast.

"Then we'll just play it by ear."

"I do have an idea." Jeffrey says, picking up a piece of bacon.

"You do, what's that?"

"The Cubs are playing today." He says, after swallowing "Have you ever been to a baseball game?"

"No." Ava replies, shaking her head. "My mom didn't have time or the money to take me to a game when I was little and my dad left, so I never went to one."

"Alright, we'll go to the game."

"Do you have tickets?"

"No, but we can get them at the stadium. The game's not sold out."

"Alright."

They finish breakfast and then leave for Chicago and the game.

They both enjoy the game. Jeffrey bought Ava every type of souvenir there was to buy and spent the day explaining the rules of baseball to her. Afterwards he took her out for pizza before they head back to Springfield. When they get back to the Jeffrey's room, Jeffrey is in the bathroom. When he comes out Ava is waiting. "What's this?"

"It's your father's day gift." She says, handing it to him.

"You didn't have to get me anything?" Jeffrey says, opening the gift. "A shirt." He says, smiling.

"Yes, I thought I would go the traditional route this year since it's our first father's day, but I also have something else for you." Ava says, pulling out a larger package. "It's more personal." She says, handing it to him.

Opening the package, Jeffrey is surprised to find a large binder. Taking it out of the box, he puts the box on the floor before he opens the binder, surprised to see pictures of Ava when she was a little girl.

"I thought you would like to have some pictures of me growing up, and there's stuff from school, awards and ribbons that I won."

They spent the rest of the evening looking through the album until Ava remembers that she is meeting Mike for dinner. Grabbing her purse, Jeffrey walks her to the door. Hugging her tightly, he says. "Thank you for the album and the shirt."

"You're welcome, Happy Father's Day."

"Thank you."

She leaves and Jeffrey closes the door behind her. Picking up the album he looks through the pages of Ava's childhood again.

1.7


	3. A Fresh Start Chapter 3

A Fresh Start

Chapter Three

It was around seven pm; Jeffrey was walking down the east side of the Neva River in St. Petersburg Russia. It was mid-June so the city was in the middle of what the locals called "White Nights" He was walking back from a debriefing on the surveillance from the night before. For the last several years, the Russian Mafia had taken control of many of the city governments through out the country and Moscow had requested help from the US to clean up the mess. The agency had been ordered to send in operatives to infiltrate the Russian organization. Jeffrey had volunteered for the mission, along with his long time girlfriend and partner Rebeca.

A couple days before, while they had been getting ready for their shifts at the White Night's club they had made plans to meet for dinner tonight and then perhaps take walk along the river when they finished their shifts and debriefing. They weren't expected to be back at headquarters until the evening after next and they really hadn't had any time alone since this operation started. He missed her a lot in the last few days. "And tonight he had something extremely special to ask her." He thought, as he reached into his pants pocket for the small white box he picked up earlier that afternoon. "She's going to be totally blown away." He said, smiling as he walked up the street to their apartment. He was deep in thought, that's why he didn't noticed the two agents waiting on the front step of his apartment.

"O'Neill." They whisper as he walks up the steps.

Jeffrey spins around, no one in St. Petersburg knew his true identity he'd been given a complete bio and identification before contacting the owners of the club. Looking around he spots two men in Russian street clothes, but he can see the difference just from that distance.

"What are you doing here? Are you trying to blow my cover?"

"You're requested back at head quarters."

"What! No, I'm off for the next two days. I got plans tonight."

"This is an emergency."

"Come inside." Jeffrey says, opening the door to the apartment building. None of them spoke as they walk up the three flights of stairs to Jeffrey's apartment. Unlocking the door, he lets them in and then goes into the kitchen. Putting the bags of groceries on the small table, he turns to the two gentlemen. "What's going on?"

"We can't get into here. You've been ordered back to headquarters, immediately."

"Did something happen? Is our cover blown? What's going on?"

"We can't discuss it here. We were only told to bring you in."

"Alright, let me leave Beca a note." Jeffrey scribbles a quick note for her and then he leaves with the other two men.

They ride back to headquarters in silence. Jeffrey has a million thoughts running through his head. Had something happened to his debriefing, had their cover been blown, was Rebeca alright. As they were pulling up to a non-descript office building the pressure and silence came to be too much and Jeffrey asks again "What's happened?" Neither man answers him as they pull into and underground parking deck. Parking, they all get out of the car and walk into the building in silence.

Jeffrey rolls to his side, clinching tightly to the sheet that is lying at his waist.

When they reach the upper floors, Jeffrey is led to one of the briefing room. The office is strangely quiet as they walk through. And Jeffrey wonders about it, but his mind is too full of other things. After he is led into the briefing room, the two gentlemen leave him alone. For about ten minutes, Jeffrey stares at the walls surrounding him, the silence is killing him and it feels like the longest ten minutes of his life, or so he thought. When the door opens, he is surprised to see the head of operations for the agency standing in the doorway. "Lieutenant O'Neill."

"Sir, what's going on?"

"We have a situation Lieutenant?"

"Okay."

"When was the last time you saw your partner."

"Beca, it was the morning before last. When she left for her shift at the club, why?"

"She missed her check in time yesterday morning."  
"What! She wouldn't do that."

"I know, but none of the agents with her has seen her since before her shift was to start at the club."

"We have to find her." Jeffrey says, standing up and walking towards the door.

The director steps in front of him. "We have every agent looking for her."

"No, I have to be out there. She has…"

"We'll find her. She may have just been late to check in. We don't know that something…"  
"Yes we do. She would never, never misses her check in times." Jeffrey replies, walking around the Colonel.

"Jeffrey, if you go looking for her, you'll blow your cover."

"I don't care about my cover. If she's in trouble she needs me."

"Jeffrey, I know you two have…"  
"I was going to ask her to marry me, tonight. I have to find her." Jeffrey says, pulling the door to the debriefing room open.

Jeffrey sits up in the bed, staring at the room in front of him. Gasping for breath, he can't think for a few seconds as the residual memories of the dream plays through his mind.

"What the hell was that?" Jeffrey thought, as he gasps for breath. "Why would I dream about her now? I didn't even dream about her when Cassie showed me her picture." Jeffrey says, rubbing his face with his hands. Sitting up on the side of the bed, he let his memory drift back to the next few days after Beca had come up missing.

After leaving headquarters that evening, he had gone back to their apartment hoping that she had somehow turned up. No one was there. He could remember the hollow sound of his voice when he called her name as he opened the door to the apartment and then the silence afterwards. Closing the door, he starts back downstairs, but as he reaches the lobby two agents from the agency stop him.

"Lieutenant, Colonel Mathews has ordered you to stay here."

"I can't, I have to find her." Jeffrey says, trying to walk around them.

"I'm sorry, but you must stay here until we know more." One of the agents replies, as they both block him from leaving.

"I have to go look. I can't just stand here and wait." Jeffrey pleads, as the two men turn him around and start back upstairs. "Let me go." He demands, but the agents continue towards his apartment. "Please, I have to find her." Jeffrey pleads, until they close the door to his apartment.

For the next three days, every time Jeffrey had opened his door one of the agents would be there. He even tried to sneak out through the fire escape but another agent had stopped him and escorted him back to the apartment.

During those three days, he had spent them staring at the white box he had bought, now sitting on the coffee table in their living room and praying that she would come home to him.

On the third day, someone finally knocks on the door to the apartment and he nearly ran to the door, hoping it would be her. That she was safe. He felt disappointment wash over him as he stares at one of the agents guarding the apartment.

"What! I'm still here. I haven't…"

"Colonel Mathews just called…."

"They found her. Is she alright?" Where has she been?" Jeffrey fires questions as he pulls the door closed.

"Colonel Mathews didn't say. He only said to bring you down to headquarters."

"Let's go." Jeffrey says, running downstairs.

"The agency had sent one of the local cars to pick Jeffrey up, just one more attempt to keep cover." Jeffrey thought, as they pull away from the apartment.

When they finally reach the office building, Jeffrey didn't wait for the car to park. The moment it slows down he is out and gone before the other agents can follow.

When he reaches the briefing room where he had been brought three days before he opens the door as he says "Bec…" He stops as he stares at a room full of other agents.

"What's going on? Where's Beca?" One of the agent's steps aside as Colonel Mathews came forward. "Jeffrey, why don't you sit down?"

"No, tell me. Where is she?"

"Please, sit down."

Jeffrey sits down as Colonel Mathews sits down beside him and Jeffrey looks around the room at the other agents, each one looking away when their eyes met, before he asks. "Where is she? Did you find her?"

"We have agents just west of the city, checking out a scene of an accident."

"How do you know that she's involved?"

"We received a note yesterday afternoon."

"What note? Who was it from?"

"Here." Colonel Mathews says, pulling a piece of paper from a folder laying beside him and handing it to Jeffrey. "We'll leave you alone." Colonel Mathews says, motioning for everyone to leave the room, closing the door behind him. Slowly Jeffrey opens the note and immediately he recognized Beca's handwriting

"My darlin Jeffrey,

"I'm so sorry but I can't do this anymore. It has to be this way. Please forgive me." Beca,

Jeffrey stares at note as tears fills his eyes. He refuses to believe what those few sentences imply. Several minutes later, Colonel Mathews comes back in the room. "Well." Jeffrey whispers, staring at the open note lying on the table.

"The agents found the accident site and a car similar to hers."

"Did they find a body?"

'Yes, but we won't know anything until all the tests are run."

"So you don't know for sure it's her."

"No, not till we get the results back."

"I want to go out there."

"I don't…."

"I have to. I have to see it with my own eyes."

"I'll have one of the agents take you to the scene. But I have to warn you, Jeffrey that scene is…" Jeffrey just nods as he stands up.

Through the next few days very little information came through. The body that was pulled from the car wasn't able to be positively identified. All of the victims teeth had been pulled so she couldn't be identified through dental records and the actual body was burned beyond recognition.

As the months wore on Jeffrey began to accept the fact that she wasn't coming back, although the agency couldn't conclusively prove that Rebeca had been killed in that accident. On the other hand, they couldn't prove that she was alive either.

A couple weeks after her disappearance the Russian government moved on the club, he and Rebeca had been working at. With the help of the agency, they were able to bring down most of the Russian Mafia's ties to Saint Petersburg, and Jeffrey was assigned to another operation in East Germany.

Jeffrey closes his eyes and immediately Rebeca's face, smiling at him the last morning he saw her alive fills his mind. "What would have happened if you hadn't've died?" Jeffrey thought as he lays back down, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

The next morning the buzzing of Jeffrey's alarm clock woke him from a restless sleep. It had taken him a couple of hours after the dream for him to relax enough to go back to sleep. And still he was plagued by images of Beca and St. Petersburg. Pushing the covers back, he sits up.

He feels completely drained. His head hurt and his eyes feel like he had buckets of sand poured into them. Slowly he walks into the bathroom. He isn't surprised to see the effects of the restless night he had. He wanted to call City hall and tell them he wouldn't be in, but he didn't. Turning on the shower as hot as he could stand, he stands under the spray for several minutes.

He has just turned the water off in the shower when the phone in his nightstand starts to ring. Grabbing a towel he runs for the bed, pulling the drawer open, he picks the phone up.

"Hello."

"Password?" A voice asks.

"2223237." Jeffrey replies

"Colonel O'Neill, you have a call from Washington. I'll put it through."

"Thank you." After a couple clicks the calls are connected.

"Jeffrey, its Noah Chase."

"What's going on?"

"You need to fly down here."

"I can't, I'm in the middle of some important stuff that needs my full attention. Has there been any change?"

"No, he's still in a coma."

"Then, why do I need to come down."

"We found the woman that ordered the hit. They're bringing her in tomorrow morning."

"How did we find her?" We've been looking for her since the accident."

"Apparently she decided to come back home from the islands."

"You're sure she's the one that ordered the hit."

"Yes, the guy that messed with his brakes positively identified her from the pictures we showed him at the time of his arrest."

"Alright, I'll see if I can get down there this weekend, but I can't get away before then."

"Alright, we'll see you this weekend."

"I'll try." Jeffrey replies, hanging up he quickly gets dressed and leaves for City Hall.

It is a few days before William is able to make it over to the villa. Will is still in school but William had left orders that at soon as he returned to bring him to the villa.

"Alon… William." Cassie says, opening the door when he knocks.

"Cassie, it's so good to see you. I was surprised at your request to stay on the island for the summer. I thought things were going pretty well for you in Springfield." He says, walking into the house.

"Yes, well looks can be deceiving." Cassie replies, as she leads the way into the living room where she and Richard had stayed so many times. Sitting down on the couch, she watches as William sits down beside her.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

"It's a lot of things. I just realized that I needed a break. I need to get my head back on my shoulders."

"It looks like it is." He says, smiling at her

"You know what I mean. Ever since Richard, I've been running, running from his death, running from being alone. I've put RJ through one relationship after another. I lost my daughter. And then there was the whole fiasco with Josh, and I'm afraid that I've completely destroyed my relationship with my sister. I pushed Jeffrey away. I convinced myself that I loved Edmund. Everything has been so screwed up for the last few years."

"Cassie, what happened with Richard is enough to rock anyone's world, especially yours. You two loved each other so deeply, so completely and really you were just getting started on your life together and…" He snaps his fingers, "…like that it was over. You can't blame yourself for going a little crazy."

"I went to Edmund, after all the things he did to me and Richard and…."

"Edmund lied to you."

"Yes he did, but that still doesn't excuse me. I knew what he was. I knew how he felt about Richard and I should have realized what he was doing."

"Edmund is a good actor. He knows how to manipulate people, take me for example he manipulated me into giving him Richard's job. Oh, it was Alexandria Spaulding that made the formal request, but he still manipulated the situation, but manipulating her. Richard warned me about him, but I wanted to trust him. He is my brother after all."

"Okay, so maybe we're not at fault about Edmund, but Jeffrey certainly didn't deserve what I did to him. I tossed him aside like yesterday's news for my sister's husband. He made one mistake. Look at all the things I've done in my lifetime, all the mistakes I made and I couldn't... no, I wouldn't forgive him. He loved me. He loved me the way Richard loved me, wholly and completely and I pushed him away for Josh, for my sister's husband and to make matters worse she was dying of cancer and I was too blind and selfish to see it."

"Cassie, you were not the only one involved in that, Josh was too. If he loved Reva so much, why didn't he insist that she tell him what was going on? He didn't, instead he focused on the hospital project and…"

"And me."

"And he ignored his wife when she needed him most."

"You're right, we should have made her tell us what was going on, but I was so caught up in my own stuff that I couldn't even see that she was dying of cancer."

"Okay, you realize you're wrong. You changed it. You're not expected to be perfect Cassie. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you go on."

"That's why I'm down here. I'm going to take this summer and I'm going to focus on my son's and getting my life back into control. And after the summer is over, we'll see where we are?"

"Well, I know one little boy who will be very happy to see you. He's been missing you."

"I know. It's been a long time since I was down here. How has he been doing? Is he adjusting to being here and being with you?"

"He's eating it up. He's so bright and he picks things up so quickly and sometimes he can see things before I can figure them out. It's amazing. But there is something I need to tell you."

"He hasn't been sick has he? His liver is okay?"

"No, no, he's fine. The doctor's given him a clean bill of health. No this has to do with Camille."

"Camille, what does she have to do with anything? You banished her after you became prince."

"Yes, I know I did. But after Richard died and you brought Will down here last summer I allowed her come back to island."

"You what!"

"I allowed her back on the island. I thought she could use the chance to get to know Will and he would know his natural parents. I did it for Will."

"After she cost me my life, cost Richard his life, his country, everything he ever worked for. After everything she did with Dax, and you let her back on the island. Is she still here?" Cassie asks standing up.

"No, I had her deported the day I talked to you about the phone calls not getting through."

"Deported, why?"

"Because she was the reason that you weren't getting through to me, she had ordered the communications staff not to put any of your calls through. When I found out and confronted her, and told her that you were coming down here for the summer and she threatened you and Will. That was the last straw."

"How come I didn't see her when I was down here last summer with Edmund and Jeffrey?"

"I didn't contact her until after you left."

"And why didn't Will ever say anything about this when I talked to him?"

"I told him not too."

"You told him not to, why?"

"Because I knew this would be your reaction and I didn't want to worry or upset you."

"Given what she's done? Do you blame me? She ruined my life."

"She also gave you Will."

"That's the only good thing she's done." Cassie replies, pacing in front of couch. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I felt that I should tell you, maybe to show you that you're not the only one that makes errors in judgment."

"You mean you're not the perfect Prince." Cassie says, stopping her pacing and looking at him.

"No, I'm not." He replies, as the front door bursts open and Will runs into the house, running straight for Cassie.

Cassie catches him before he slams into her, wrapping her arms around him she holds him tight while William watches.

Through the rest of the week, Jeffrey is plagued by memories of Rebeca. He buries himself in work, either working on the investigation into Doris's connections to Alan or in meetings with the current mayor about different projects he had started. On Friday afternoon, he is coming out of Company as Ava is coming in.

"Dad." She says, walking over to him and giving him a hug

"Hi."

"Where have you been? I've come by your room several times this week and you were never there."

"I've been busy at City Hall and the investigation."

"How is that going?"

"Good, I'm waiting for a faxed statement from the guy that Alan used to run over Tammy, once we have that, we'll see were we are."

"Okay, so what are you doing this weekend?"

"Actually, I have to fly down to Washington."

"Washington D.C."

"Yes, I have some business to take care of down there."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know, probably Sunday evening. Why?"

"I was just curious. I thought maybe we could hang out."

"What about Mike?"

"He's out of town this weekend."

"Down at his parents, I forgot he goes about once a month."

"Yeah, so I have the whole weekend free."

"Well then, why don't you go to Washington with me?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'll be busy most of the weekend. But there's a lot to do down there. I think you'll like it. We might be able to take in some of the sites while we're there."

"I'd love to go."

"Good, I'll call my travel agent and book you a ticket."

"Okay."

"I've got to go to a meeting, but I'll call you with the time we're leaving. I would go home and pack."

"I will. I'm just going to grab something to eat."

"Make it more than a salad." Jeffrey replies, as Ava walks away.

She nods as she walks into Company and Jeffrey turns for his truck.

"May I help you?" Camille's mom asks when she answers the door.

"Yes, we need to speak with Ms. Johnson."

"She's upstairs, she's been quite upset since she's gotten home.

"Could you please get her?"

"Yes Sir."

Mrs. Johnson walks to the stairs. "Camille, there are a couple of gentlemen here to see you."

"I'll be down in a minute Mom." Camille calls, getting up and glancing in the mirror as she wipes the tears from her face. Walking downstairs, Camille is surprised to see two federal agents in her mother's living room. "May I help you?"

"Are you Camille Baptiste?"

"Johnson, I went back to my maiden name after my divorce."

"But you are the ex-wife of William Winslow, Prince of San Cristobel."

"Yes."

"Could you please turn around?" One of the agents replies, pulling a pair of handcuff from his pocket and taking Camille's arm.

"Camille! What's going on?" Mrs. Johnson asks

"I don't know."

"Ms. Johnson, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Richard Winslow. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you can not afford an attorney one will be provided for you, do you understand these rights?"

"Yes." Camille replies.

"What are you doing? My daughter did not try to kill anyone." Mrs. Johnson says, standing in front of the door, blocking the agents exit.

"Ma'am, you need to step out of the way."

"Mom, it's alright. I'll take care of this." Camille says.

"Camille, what's going on?"

"I don't want you to worry. I'll be back before you know it."

"Mrs. Johnson, please step out of the way." One of the agents says.

She moves away from the door, and watches as the agents take Camille out to the black sedan parked in front of the house. She watches as they help her into the back of the car and then one of the agents slide in beside her and then they leave.

Camille doesn't say a word as they drive to the airport and board a plane. When they land in Washington, two more agents are waiting for them. They pull up to an building, parking in the lower parking deck they walk inside and lead Camille into a holding room, closing the door behind her.

"Let him know that we're here." One of the agents tells another agent.

"Yes Sir." Picking up a phone from one of the desks and pushing a button.

"Yes." Noah says, holding down the intercom button

"She's here."

"I'll be right down. Has she said anything?"

"No, not a word since we picked her up."

"Okay."

Noah is leaving his office when his private cell phone starts to ring, pulling it from his pocket, he answers on the second ring. "Jeffrey."

"I just landed."

"You need to come straight here."

"They've brought her in?"

"Yes, she waiting for us."

"I'll be there as soon as I drop my stuff off at the hotel."

"I'll wait till you get here."

"Alright." Jeffrey says, as he and Ava climb into a waiting cab. Hanging up as the cab pulls away from the curb.

"You have a meeting already."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'll just hang out. Maybe take a walk or something."

"I'll try to finish this up as quickly as possible."

"Okay."

Jeffrey gives the driver the name of their hotel and then settles back to watch as they drive into Washington. He'd been there many times over the years, usually at the end of an operation for debriefing before he was sent out again. He didn't mind Washington, but he preferred New York when he was at home for any length of time. A picture of Rebeca flashes in his mind and he shakes his head slightly "I can't think about her." He thought, turning to Ava. "If you get hungry before I get back to the hotel, there is a little bistro just a couple blocks down that is wonderful. I'll try to be a quick as I can with this."

"Alright." Ava replies as the cab pulls up to their hotel.

Opening the door, Jeffrey gets out and then turns to help Ava as the bell hop comes for their luggage. Walking into the lobby, they walk over to the front desk.

"I need to check in." Jeffrey says, walking up to the counter.

"Yes Sir, may I have your name."

"Jeffrey O'Neill."

"Yes Mr. O'Neill, we have a room for you." The clerk replies, as she pushes some keys on her computer and then hits the print button. When the papers have printed, she hands them to Jeffrey and says, "Could you please sign here?" She finishes, handing him a pen. After signing the papers, she hands Jeffrey a set of key cards and then he turns to Ava.

"Can you get upstairs?" Jeffrey asks, handing her one of the key cards.

"Yes, I can handle it."

"Thank you, I'll be back as soon as I can." Jeffrey replies, walking back across the lobby as Ava and one of the bell hops head for the elevators.

Hailing another cab, Jeffrey slides inside and then says "NIS headquarters."

"Yes Sir." The cab replies, pulling away from the hotel as Jeffrey reaches into his jacket pocket to make sure that he has his ID with him. A few minutes later, they pull up to the front.

"You can drop me off here." Jeffrey says, as the cab stops and he hands him some money. "Keep the change." Jeffrey says, as he opens the door and gets out.

"Thank you. " The cab driver replies, as Jeffrey closes the door and starts walking towards the guard's shack.

A man in an military uniform steps from the shack as Jeffrey pulls his ID from his pocket and shows it him as he waves him on through.

"Thank you, Jeffrey says, walking away from the shack and towards the building.

When he reaches the building, he pulls out his badge and clips it to his belt before he enters the building, nodding to the security guard as he walks past the front gate to the elevators. Pushing the up button he waits for the elevator and then steps on after it is empty, pushing the button for the second floor, he rides up in silence.

"It's been years since I have been in this building." Memories of the first time he had come here after Rebeca flashes through his mind as the elevator doors opens and he steps out. Turning right, he starts down a long hallway, at the end of it is a large room where most of the active agents who were assigned as field assignments work, it also holds a series of holding rooms, were they would bring suspects in to question.

There are a group of agents standing around, talking amongst each other as Jeffrey walks up. One of them looks up and stares, drawing the other agent's attention. Most them knew Jeffrey before his surgery and they had seen pictures of Richard before his death but none of them were prepared for how much Jeffrey resembled Richard.

"He's and exact duplicate." One of the agents whispers as Jeffrey walks by.

"I know." Another agent replies, as the door to a holding room opens and Noah walks out.

"All right, back to work." Noah says, as he walks up to Jeffrey, holding out his hand. "Jeffrey, it's good to see you. Sorry about that."

"And you Noah. And I'm sort of used to it."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Yes, but she's not saying anything."

"She's not even denying it."

"No! She won't say anything. She's not even asking for an attorney."

"Let me see if I can get her to talk." Jeffrey says, walking towards the room as Noah smiles.

Opening the door, Jeffrey walks into the holding room as Camille looks up. Gasping, she stares at Jeffrey. "Richard!" She squeaks, but Jeffrey didn't reply. "You're supposed to be dead. He…"

"He what?" Jeffrey asks, smoothly changing into Richard's voice.

"He promised me! He swore…"

"That I wouldn't survive." Jeffrey says, continuing in Richard's voice.

"Of course, I paid him a hundred thousand dollars."

"That's all my life was worth to you."

"Yes, in fact I thought it was a bit much, considering how completely your precious Cassie ruined my life. You took everything away from me, William, my son. You deserved to die." Camille says, standing up as one of the agents standing beside the door steps forward, but Jeffrey waves him back.

"What are you going to do Camille? Finish the job. That might be hard with all these witnesses around."

"You ruined my life!" Camille shouts.

"No, you ruined your own life. Cassie and I were more than willing to allow you to see Will, but you had to manipulate William into taking the throne."

"That's were he belonged. It's where…"

"Where you belonged?" Jeffrey asks.

"Yes!" Camille shouts. "Your precious Cassie took everything away from me. That is why I had to take everything she held so dear." Camille sits down, staring at Jeffrey

"That is why you hired that man to try and kill me."

"Yes!" Camille shouts. "He'll be sorry he crossed me. You all will."

"Thank you, Ms. Johnson. And by the way, I'm not Richard." Jeffrey says calmly, switching back to his normal voice as he opens the door and walks out of the room. Camille stares at the door.

"That was brilliant." Noah says, as he walks out of the observation room, closing the door behind him.

"Did you get everything?"

"We got it all."

"Good what about the charges?"

"She's charged with attempted murder."

"You know if we only charge her with attempted murder and not murder one, they're going to know that he's still alive."

"I know, and I wish we could charge her with murder one, but we can't because he did survive."

"What about the conspiracy charges?"

"She'll be charged with that too. "

"Good, then I need to head for San Cristobel."

"Why?"

"First I need to see William and tell him that Camille has been arrested for Richard's accident and then I need to tell Cassie that Richard is alive."

"Why do you need to tell her? He's still in a coma."

"Can you imagine her reaction if we don't tell her." Jeffrey says, looking at Noah.

"I see what you mean but isn't she in Springfield?" Noah asks, as they walk through the office to the hallway

"No, she took RJ and went to San Cristobel for the summer."

"Oh, I guess she needed to get way after the Josh and Reva thing."

"How do you know about that?"

"I check WSPR's website on occasion." Noah replies while they wait for the elevator.

"Umm, I'm going to head back to my hotel. I left Ava there."

"I was surprised to hear about that too. I never pegged you as the father type."

"You weren't the only one, and I never thought of myself as the father type either." Jeffrey replies, as the elevator arrives and he steps on. Holding the door open, "I'm learning to be a father and I'm actually enjoying it." Jeffrey says with a smile.

"I would freak out if I had a grown child show up."

"I was at first."

"I would love to meet her."

"No, not with your reputation." Jeffrey says, as Noah smiles. "Since we've got this wrapped up. I need to see what she wants to do." Jeffrey replies, nodding towards the office.

"I understand, maybe next time."

"Yeah, next time." Jeffrey replies, releasing the button that was holding the elevator door open.

"I'll let you know what happens."

"Thanks." Jeffrey replies, as the doors close.

When he reaches the lobby, Jeffrey pulls his cell phone from his pocket and dials William's private line, after a couple rings he picks. "Hello."

"William, its Jeffrey."

"What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you in person. Are you leaving the country anytime soon?"

"No, not till next month."

"Good, I need to make some arrangements and I'll get back to you."

"Can you tell me what this is about?"

"I'd rather tell you in person."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for your call."

"Okay." Jeffrey replies, as he slips into a cab, giving the driver the name of his hotel as he hangs up the phone.

As he settles back into the cab, he dials Ava's cell phone, after a couple rings she answers. "Hello."

"Ava."

"Hi, what's up? I thought you were in a meeting."

"It's taken care of. Where are you?"

"I'm just a few blocks from the hotel. I went to get something to eat."

"I'm on my way back."

"Alright, I'll meet you there."

"Okay." Jeffrey replies and hangs up.

3.15


	4. A Fresh Start Chapter 4

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Four_

_Ava is waiting outside the hotel when Jeffrey's cab pulls up and he gets out. "Are you hungry?" Ava asks, as she walks up to him._

"_Yes." Jeffrey replies, smiling_

"_Something's different; your meeting went good." _

"_Yes it did, I'll tell you about it after I order something to eat from room service." Jeffrey said, as he walks into the hotel_

"_Alright, but we can go out."_

_ "No, we need to talk." Jeffrey replies, walking into the hotel with Ava following him_

_ A few minutes later, they are back in their room and Jeffrey is just hanging up with room service when Ava asks. "So what happened at this meeting you went to?"_

_ "I vindicated a very close friend."_

_ "Who?"_

_ "Richard Winslow."_

_ "Cassie's deceased husband, Tammy's adoptive father."_

_ "He's also Edmund Winslow half brother. And do you know what happened to him?"_

_ "Sure, he was killed in a car accident. What does that have to do with you?"_

"_Well, Richard had ties to the agency that I worked for and still do on occasion. Anyway Richard is the reason I'm the man I am today. About a year before Richard and Cassie left San Cristobel, Richard received several death threats, threats that his advisors took very seriously, seriously enough to bring in a decoy, me. Richard and I got very close, so close in fact that he changed my life. _

_ "So how did you vindicate him today?"_

_ "A few days ago, I received a call from an old colleague of mine, from the agency, giving me a head's up on an arrest they were about to make. That's why I had to fly to D.C this weekend. The agency was bringing in the person responsible for Richard's accident."_

_ "So, who did they arrest?"_

"_Camille, Prince William's former wife and the mother to Cassie and Richard's adoptive son Will."_

"_Richard's ex sister-in-law tried to kill him."_

"_Yes."_

"_Why?"_

"_She blamed Prince William's rejection on Cassie and so she decided to take the one thing that Cassie held most dear…."_

"_Richard."_

"_Yes."_

"_So what was she arrested for?"_

_ "Attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder."_

"_But you said he was killed."_

"_When Richard's accident happened, everyone accepted at face value that the man they buried was Richard. They looked exactly alike."_

"_Who looked exactly alike?"_

"_Richard's twin. The agency found Richard's twin about a month before Richard's accident. And then a week before Richard's accident, his brother had one as well, a much more serious accident. When Richard had his accident, Cedars wasn't equipped to help him, so the agents sent to investigate contacted officials here in Washington and recommended that Richard and his brother be switched. They were given the okay by the director."_

"_Did Richard know that he had a twin?"_

"_No."_

"_So, he's been in Washington all this time." _

"_Yes."_

"_If he had a twin, why did they make you look like him?"_

"_They wouldn't have if they had known but they didn't at the time. The assignment in San Cristobel was a good reason to change my looks at the time. Anyway, Richard had a twin brother if you put those two in the same room together I don't think even Cassie could tell them apart."_

_ "Was Richard's accident connected somehow to his brothers?"_

"_Yes, but not till after Richard was moved to the hospital in DC and his brother was buried in his place did we figure that out."_

"_So, how did it all work?"_

"_As I said, when the agents arrived at Cedars, they realized that there was a chance to save Richard, but he couldn't be treated properly at Cedars, so they brought his brother in. This was after Richard talked to Reva, and asked her to turn the life support off, while Reva was at the chapel, the agents switched Richard with his brother and they flew him to Washington. Where he's being treated at the agencies private hospital." Jeffrey says, as there is a knock at their door. He goes to let room service in and waits until they leave before he finishes the story while he starts to eat._

"_That still doesn't explain how you vindicated him." Ava says, reaching for one of Jeffrey's French fries. He smiles before he answers her._

"_Camille left the States after Richard's accident."_

"_She wasn't suspected in trying to kill Richard at the time."_

"_That's correct that didn't come along until about three or four months after Richard's supposed death. Our agents uncovered a ring of state side terrorist and murder for hire. One of the men we arrested cut a deal he would give us the person responsible for killing Richard Winslow in exchange for a lighter sentence._

_The agents showed him pictures of all of Richard's associates and he picked out Camille as the woman that approached and hired him to kill Richard. At first we didn't believe him, but the agents started to look into it and they found that Richard's car had indeed been tampered with. _

"_How?"_

"_The brake lines had been cut and the bolts holding the axel had been loosened, not enough to make the axel fall off right away, but enough that over time they would work themselves loose and the front suspension of the car would fall off. Either way, Richard would have an accident and could have been killed, either by brake failure or by the suspension falling off. An accident would have happened even if it hadn't been raining that night."_

"_You went to confront her today?"_

"_Yes, and oh you should have seen the look on her face when I walked into that holding room, like she was seeing a ghost. Well, I guess she was and then when I spoke like Richard. That really freaked her out, and with a little prodding and I do mean a little she admitted everything." Jeffrey says with a beautiful smile._

"_Why did she stop at Richard, why not go after all of them?" Ava asked, eating another French fry._

"_She couldn't get to William, he's too well protected. But she was only after Cassie. That leads me to my next problem." Jeffrey says putting his napkin on his plate and leaning back._

_ "What."_

_ "I have to explain all of this to William and Cassie before the arraignment, and the agency charges Camille with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder on Monday."_

_ "I can go back to Springfield if you want me too. I don't mind."_

_ "Actually I thought it might be fun to go to San Cristobel together. I mean its part of your heritage, being that Olivia's from there, and it is a tropical paradise."_

_ "Sand, surf, and tropical drinks, for one weekend, I can handle that." _

_ "So, you'll go."_

_ "Yes, I'll go. It'll be fun to see where my mom grew up."_

_ "Well, where we'll be staying is completely different from were your mom grew up." Jeffrey replies, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialing a number._

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "Olivia didn't have a whole lot growing up, that's one of the reasons she was so desperate to get into that party that night."_

"_So, we'll be staying at one of the resorts?" _

"_No, we'll be staying at the palace."_

_ "The palace of San Cristobel, like were a prince lives."_

_ "Yes, like were a prince lives, and his name is William William Baptiste-Winslow."_

_ "That's quite a name for a prince."_

_ "Yes, well William was the name Prince George gave him, William Baptiste was the name his adoptive parents gave him and well, Winslow is his true name." Jeffrey says, as his travel agents answers the call on the third ring. _

_He takes care of their travel arrangements while Ava takes his tray out to the hall and starts to pack again. While he was at his meeting Ava had unpacked for them before she had gone to get something to eat. A few minutes later, Jeffrey is off the phone._

"_So, everything is taken care of." _

"_Yes, we leave first thing tomorrow morning. So what do you want to do?"_

"_We can stay in if you like." Ava replies, trying to sound unconcerned about what they did._

"_Oh no, you don't fool me." Jeffrey replies, standing up and walking towards the door._

"_What?" Ava replies, following him._

"_You don't want to stay in this room and we both know it. So, let's go." Jeffrey says, opening the door and ushering her out. "Have you ever seen the Washington Monument at night, or the Capitol, or the Lincoln Memorial? It's really cool." He says, as he pulls the door to their room closed behind them._

"_I told you I've never been to Washington."_

"_Okay, we'll go see as much as we can." Jeffrey replies, putting his arm across her shoulders._

"_Let's go see the Washington Monument first."_

"_The Washington Monument it is."_

_A couple hours later, they return to the hotel room, and after showers both of them go to bed as Jeffrey turns out the light Ava whispers half asleep "Night dad."_

_ "Good night." Jeffrey replies, watching her through the dark until he falls asleep about an hour later._

_ He is sitting before a warm crackling fireplace, in the background he can hear the shower running, and the soft sound of her voice as she sings in the shower. Smiling, he leans back against the cushions and closes his eyes, imaging her. He feels the heat flood his body as image after image flashes across his mind._

_ After a few minutes, he hears the water stop and then he feels her fingers gliding through his hair as she passes by. Walking around the couch, he opens his eyes, and smiles at the soft t-shirt and shorts she always wears to bed. On her feet are the slippers he had bought her for Christmas last year, little kittens and he smiles as she sits down beside him. "Darlin, you look tired."_

_ "I look tired, not handsome." Jeffrey asks, lifting one arm so she can lean against him._

_ "You're always handsome." Rebeca replies, laying her head on his shoulder. "But they're pushing you hard."_

_ "Colonel Mathews wants to make sure I know everything I need to know. Lieutenant Russell is pushing you just as hard." Jeffrey replies, kissing the side of her head._

_ "So maybe she is, but…"_

_ "Don't say you're younger than me." Jeffrey replies, pulling her to him._

_ "I won't even though…" Jeffrey leans over and kisses her, silencing her. After a few seconds he breaks the kiss. "That's not fair." Rebeca says, breathing heavy._

_ "Neither is comparing our ages. I'm only a few years older than you."_

_ "A few, try fifteen. I think that's part of the reason my family had such a hard time…."_

_ "Are they still hounding you about me?"_

_ "No, in fact I haven't talked to them since Christmas. I haven't decided whether I should call and tell them that we're leaving again."_

_ "You know what the reactions going to be Beca."_

_ "I know, but I hate the thought of leaving the country and them not knowing that I'm gone. What if something happens over there? It won't be a complete shock if I at least do tell them I'm leaving. At least they'll be a little prepared if something happens."_

_ "Do they care?"_

_ "They care Jeffrey, I have to believe that."_

_ "I can't believe they turned their back on you because you left to live your life or because of me."_

_ "It's not just that. It's …."_

"_What else did you do, nothing, darlin?" Jeffrey says, lightly kissing the side of her head. "We need to get in the bed. Tomorrow is another day like today and I need some sleep."_

_ "Is that all you need Lieutenant?" Rebeca asks, getting up and holding out her hand as she smiles at him._

_ "There are a few other things I can handle as well."_

_ "I know there are." Rebeca squeals, as Jeffrey sweeps her up into his arm and carries her into their bedroom._

_ He doesn't bother with the light as he puts her down. The room is flooded with moonlight filtering through the lace curtains she hung on the French doors that led to their patio. Pulling her to him, he leans down, kissing her softly as he reaches for the hem of her t-shirt. For several seconds he holds her tightly, thoroughly kissing her as she wraps her arms around his neck, answering his rising passion with passion of her own. Releasing him, she takes a step back. "Take them off."_

_ He watches her for a few seconds, contemplating what she has planned before he replies, "I out rank you." _

_ "Maybe in the field, but in here I think I out rank you." Rebeca replies softly, her southern accent deepening._

_ "Alright." He says, giving in to her as she knew he would. Reaching for his pajama bottoms and tugging them down._

"_The boxer's too." She says, watching him intently. It takes her a couple seconds to realize he isn't going to go any farther until she gives him something._

_Crossing her arms, she reaches for the hem of her t-shirt and slowly pulls it up, revealing her upper body to him. She smiles as she hears his sigh as she tosses the t-shirt to the ground._

"_Beca." He says softly. _

_But she doesn't reply. He would know what to do. Reaching, he pulls his boxers off. Sighing as he stands and faces her, he shivers as he watches her slowly run her tongue along her bottom lip._

"_You want to do it?" He says his voice deep and soft, slowly shaking her head no. "You're making this harder, you realize that?" He asks, staring at her. _

"_Yes." She replies softly, reaching for the waist of her shorts and slowly tugging on them._

_He watches intently as she bends over, pushing the shorts down her long legs to her feet. Standing, she watches him, caressing her body, feeling the heat intensify deep within. Stepping out of the shorts, she stands there waiting and watching. Taking a step forward and holding out his hand he waits for her to come to him, but she doesn't, instead she whispers, in a husky tone. "Lay down."_

_He feels the heat flood his body, with those two words. Walking over to the bed, he sits down first. Watching her for a couple seconds before he scoots back, laying against the headboard as she walks over to the bed._

_Slowly running one finger up his leg as she walks up to him, leaning over she kisses him, pouring all of her passion into that one kiss, until he reaches up and tries to pull her onto the bed with him._

"_No, I'm not ready." She whispers after breaking the kiss._

"_Beca." He sighs, swallowing hard. As she walks to the end of the bed, kneeling beside him she slowly ran one nail down the center of his foot and smiles when he pulls away. _

_Straddling and kneeling over him, she works her way up his legs till she reaches his chest. Leaning over him, she nibbles as she moves up his stomach to his nipples, pausing to lightly kiss them, playing with them for a few seconds before she continues on up his chest to his neck._

_Reaching up, he buries one hand in her hair. It's flowing around them, softly tickling him. "Beca, you're killing me. I don't know if I can hang on." He gasps, trying to direct her mouth with the hand he has buried in her hair. For a couple of seconds she lets him rest, kissing the side of his neck, moving up to nibble on his ear._

_He feeling the heat of her breath washing down her neck and turning his head, he wraps his arms around her. He kisses her as he tries to pull her down on top of him. She resists until he breaks the kiss, looking into her eyes, he whispers. "I need to feel you against me. I need to feel your body, your skin, touching me. Please!" he pleads with her, kissing her again._

_Lying against him, she can't resist the desperate desire she hears in his voice, or sees in his eyes. Leaning up, she kisses him as her hand slowly runs down his chest, lightly scratching him. She feels him shiver as her nails scratch across his chest, stopping for a couple seconds to play with his nipples before he pulls her against him, trapping her hand between them._

_Reaching up, he buries his fingers in her hair as he kisses her fiercely, pouring all the heat, passion, desire and need into her. Slowly running his hand down her body till he reaches her breast, his hand gently caressing her nipple, distracting her for a couple seconds from the kiss until she remembers and she leans back, breaking the kiss._

"_Ahhh, Beca, Please." Jeffrey groans._

_Ava hears him cry out in his sleep, sitting up; she watches him for a couple seconds and realizes that he's dreaming. "I wonder who Beca is." She thinks as she lies back down and falls back asleep._

_Slowly she runs her hand down his body, caressing and teasing him until she reaches his waist. Stopping, she looks up, watching him._

"_Please." His eyes seem to beg as her hand moves lower and he feels her fist close around him, holding him tightly, slowly caressing him, as she leans up, kissing him for a couple seconds, before he pulls away. "You know what I want?" He whispers in her ear. "Harder." "Beca." He gasps, as he feels her fist tighten around him. "Faster." He gasps, as he begins to move his hips with each caress, pushing the passion burning inside him higher. She feels the moment he begins building up to release, kissing him, she releases him. "No." He groans. "I can't…."_

_He doesn't finish as she moves up, straddling him, taking his desire deep inside her. He feels the warmth and tightness close around him and he nearly looses control. His hands fall to her waist and he holds her still as he struggles to hang on. "Beca." He gasps as he feels her closing around him, squeezing him. "I can't hold on, baby. I can't." He groans. "Please." He gasps as he releases her and she starts to slide back and forth against him. Slowly he begins to thrust into her quivering body. He can feel the passion building inside her._

"_Beca." He cries, as he buries himself as deep as he can inside her. Reaching between them, he touches her, caressing her as she rocks against him. _

_He hangs on by a thread until he feels her surrender, quivering against him as he thrust, once, and then once more, flooding her body with the passion burning deep inside him as she collapses against him "Jeffrey." _

_He thrust one more time as he wraps his arms around her and whispers "I love you Beca."_

_Slowly Jeffrey opens his eyes, staring up at the white ceiling as he tries to regain control of his pounding heart and breathing. "Beca." He whispers, as he reaches up and wipes away a tear._

_Jeffrey woke the next morning to Ava gently shaking him awake. "Umm." He groans, slowly opening his eyes_

_ "Come on, we've got a couple hours till we have to leave."_

_ "Okay." He replies, reaching up and rubbing his face._

"_I got some coffee made." Ava says, from the bathroom."_

"_Good." He replies, as he lays there for a few minutes before he pushes the covers back and sits up._

_Sitting on the side of the bed, he runs his fingers through his hair; trying to erase the dreams he had the night before. He remembers vaguely dreaming about the last two weeks before they had left for St. Petersburg._

"_Are you alright?" Ava asks, as she walks into the room_

"_I'm fine." Jeffrey says, standing up. "I'm going to take a shower."_

"_Alright." Ava replies, as she takes a sip of her coffee, watching him._

_A few minutes later, she hears the water start to run in the shower. Reaching for the last of her clothes she packs them away before she sits down and starts flipping through one of the magazines she bought the night before. _

_Ten minutes later, the water stops and Jeffrey comes out with a towel around his waist, grabbing a change of clothes he goes back into the bathroom. Returning a few minutes later, as he pulls his t-shirt on, he sits down on the bed as Ava put the magazine down._

"_Are you hungry?" Jeffrey asks, as he pulls on his socks and then reached for his tennis shoes._

"_Not really." Ava replies, watching him. "So, who's Beca?" _

"_What!" Jeffrey asks, dropping his shoe as he looks up._

"_I said, who's Beca?"_

"_Ahhh, she's no one." Jeffrey replies, pulling his other shoe on before reaching for his shave kit. "I'll be ready in a few minutes." He said, as he walks back into the bathroom with Ava watching him._

"_I'll call downstairs and get us a cab for us." Ava calls _

"_Alright." Jeffrey replies, rubbing shaving cream on his face and beginning to shave. A few minutes later, he washes the remaining shaving cream from his face. Putting everything into his shave kit before he walks back into the other room._

"_The front desk will have a cab waiting on us."_

"_Okay." Jeffrey replies, tossing the shave kit into his suitcase before he zips it up. Reaching for his cell phone and putting it in his pocket along with his change as he turns around. "Are you ready?"_

"_Yes, I've got everything packed. I'm sorry if I upset you asking about Beca."_

"_You didn't. She's just someone I used to know." Jeffrey replies, putting his suitcase on the floor and pulling the handle out. "Ready."_

"_Yeah." She says, pulling the handle up on her luggage and following him out of the room._

_Jeffrey pulls the door closed behind them. The front desk has a cab waiting on them by the time they reach the lobby and Jeffrey goes to check out. A few minutes later they are on their way to Dulles International Airport. Before they take off Jeffrey pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and dials William's number. After a couple rings, he picks up._

"_Hello." _

"_William, its Jeffrey." Jeffrey says, hearing the shouts in the background. "Where are you at?"_

"_I'm over at the villa with Cassie and the boys, they are in the pool. What's going on?"_

"_I'm headed to San Cristobel. We should land in about two and half, three hours at the most."_

"_I'll call the palace and have a car sent for you."_

"_Thank you, is Cassie there?"_

"_Yes, she's here. Do you want to talk to her?"_

"_No, I'll see you in a few hours."_

"_Okay, see you then."_

_William hangs up as they announce Jeffrey and Ava's flight. Returning to the pool, Cassie asks "Who was that?"_

"_Jeffrey, he's on his way down here. Says he has something he needs to talk to us about."_

"_Us?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What?" _

"_He didn't want to get into it over the phone." William replies, as RJ jumps on his back and they start playing in the water._

4.9


	5. A Fresh Start Chapter 5

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Five_

_Three hours later, their plane lands in San Cristobel. As they walk into the terminal one of the royal guards approaches Jeffrey. "Mr. O'Neill."_

"_Yes." Jeffrey replies_

"_Right this way Sir." The guard says turning and walking through the terminal, past customs and out a long hallway to the waiting limousine beside the airport terminal. A driver is waiting by the car as Jeffrey, Ava and the guard walks out of the airport._

"_Sir, ma'am." He says, bowing as he opens the door for them. "If you'll wait in the car, the guard will locate your luggage and we'll be on our way to the palace._

"_Thank you." Jeffrey replies, helping Ava into the car._

_A few minutes later the guard returns with their luggage and they are on their way. "You used to live here." Ava asks, as they pull through the gates of the palace._

"_Yes, for a while."_

"_At the palace, you stayed at the palace."_

"_I stayed on the palace grounds and in the palace when I was impersonating Richard."_

"_Wow, I can't believe my father lived in a palace and impersonated a Prince."_

"_Yes, well Cassie wasn't too impressed with the fact that I impersonated Richard."_

"_I think she was more upset at Richard than you."_

"_No, there's more to it than that. I did something that she couldn't forgive me for."_

"_Well, I still say it was amazing to live here." Ava replies, as they drive up the driveway to the palace._

_When they stop in front of the palace, Ava stares out the window as the driver walks around the car and opens the door open for her and Jeffrey. Holding Jeffrey's hand after he helps her from the car they follow the guard up to the palace doors as two pages pushes them open. _

_Inside William's assistants is waiting for them. "Mr. O'Neill if you'll follow me I'll show you to your room. His Highness is in a meeting but he'll be with you shortly."_

"_Thank you." Jeffrey replies, as he and Ava follow the young woman._

_When they reach the upstairs, the young woman leads them down a long hallway till they reach two rooms that are side by side. "Mr. O'Neill your suite is in here, and Miss your suite is through that door._

"_Thank you." Ava replies_

"_If you would like, you can wait for His Highness in the sitting room just down the hall."_

"_Thank you." Jeffrey replies, as the young woman nods and walks away. "Are you ready to see your room?" Jeffrey asks, nodding towards the door just down from his._

"_Of course." Ava replies excitedly, walking past Jeffrey and down the hall to her room with him following behind her._

_Opening the door, he watches as Ava walks into the room, smiling as amazement flash across her face as she looks around. "Wow, this place is bigger than my whole Beacon suite." Ava says, as she walks over to the window and looks out over the palace's private garden and the ocean beyond._

"_It is quite impressive, your bedroom in through there." Jeffrey says pointing to the door to Ava's right._

_Opening the door, Ava walks in as Jeffrey follows her. "Wow, look at that bed. It's huge." Ava says, staring at the massive king size bed in the middle of the room._

"_You have a full bathroom through that door and the closet is through that door."_

"_You really know this place."_

"_Pretty much, most of the rooms are laid out the same way. We probably have connecting suites but I promise I'll use the hallway…."_

"_Afraid you'll catch..."_

"_I don't want to catch you at anything. I've already had that pleasure and it's not something I want to repeat." Jeffrey replies, with a slight shudder_

"_You don't have to worry, Mike's not…."_

"_And I don't want to know either. I'm going to wait for William." Ava starts to laugh as Jeffrey walks out of the bedroom with her following him "I have to unpack, so I'll meet…." Ava says_

"_The staff will unpack for us." Jeffrey replies. "Actually I'm going to meet you down there I need check in at City Hall and with the agency."_

"_Okay."_

_About ten minutes after leaving Ava in her room, Jeffrey meets her in the sitting room. She is sitting on one of the couches, flipping through one of the magazines when Jeffrey walks in. "Is everything okay?" _

"_Yes." He says, sitting down beside her._

"_Did you realize there is a full size Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom?"_

"_Yes, every room has one." Jeffrey replies, as William walks in._

"_Jeffrey, it's good to see you again." He says, holding out his hand._

"_And you." Jeffrey replies, shaking William's hand. "Did Cassie come with you?"_

"_No, she wanted to take the boys to the Children's museum." William replies, as he notices Ava sitting on the couch behind them. "And who is this lovely lady?" he asks, as Jeffrey turns to Ava._

"_This is my daughter, Ava. Ava this is Prince William of San Cristobel."_

"_Your Highness." Ava says, standing up beside Jeffrey._

"_It's a pleasure to meet you." William says, talking Ava's hand and kissing the back of it softly before taking a step back. "Is this your first visit to San Cristobel?"_

"_Yes, I was born here, but I was only here for a few days before I was taken to the states by my adoptive parents._

"_You were born in San Cristobel."_

"_Yes."_

"_I'll have to show you around."_

"_I know you're busy so you don't have to do that."_

"_I insist, but first I think Jeffrey had something he needs to tell me."_

"_Yes, I do."_

"_I'll just go to my room." Ava says, walking towards the door._

"_If you like, I can have one of the staff show you around the palace."_

"_That would be great, if it's not too much trouble."_

"_Nonsense, they do it all the time."_

"_Great."_

_William walks over to the phone and pushing one of the buttons, he says. "Jodi, could you come to the family sitting room?"_

"_Yes Sir, I'll be right there."_

_A few minutes later, Jodi knocks softly on the door to the sitting room. "Come in." William calls._

"_You wanted to see me Sir."_

"_Yes, I need you to show Ms…"_

"_Peralta."_

"_Ms. Peralta around the palace."_

"_Yes Sir, right this way." Jodi says, turning towards the door with Ava following behind her._

"_We maybe awhile, so if you'll show her the gardens as well, formal and informal." William asks._

"_Yes Sir."_

"_And if anyone calls, I'm in a meeting."_

"_Yes Sir."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You're welcome, Your Highness." Jodi replies curtseying, as she closes the door to the sitting room and William turns to Jeffrey._

"_What's going on? From your tone last night and this morning this sounded pretty serious."_

"_It is it has to do with Richard."_

"_Richard! What about him?"_

"_First, he's alive."_

"_Richard, alive, he can't possibly be alive, they gave his heart to Rick Bauer."_

"_They gave a heart to Rick Bauer. It wasn't Richard's heart."_

"_I don't understand. How can he be alive? Reva turned off his life support."_

"_She did turn off the life support, but it wasn't Richard's. Let me start from the beginning."_

"_I think that would be a good." William says sitting down on the couch._

"_Richard did have the accident and he was hurt badly. When the agency heard about the accident they sent a couple of agents to Cedars, just to check it out. They were never totally satisfied with how my operation down here ended. They weren't positive that they caught everyone that was involved with the threats made to Richard's life. And they wanted to make sure that this accident wasn't because of those threats. When they arrived the agents realized that Richards injuries, though severe were not totally life threatening, but they were well beyond the scope of Cedar's doctors, so they called D.C."_

"_Why?" _

"_A few weeks before Richard's accident two agents spotted a man outside a Chicago restaurant and that man looked exactly like Richard, and at first they thought it was Richard, until they reported in and found out that Richard was in Springfield. They decided to follow him and they stayed with him till about a week before Richard's accident, when he, himself was involved in a car accident. His accident was worse than Richard's and he was pronounced brain dead within a matter of hours. The hospital where he was, kept him on life support until they could harvest his organs."_

"_How is this guy tied to Richard?"_

"_When the agency heard about Richard's accident they approached the man's family and offered to pay for the man's burial if they would release him to the agency. They agreed, and after the agency took custody of his body they asked the hospital to perform a DNA test. They compared it to the sample we had of Richard's DNA. They were a perfect match, 100% identical match to each other."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_That Richard had a twin brother, an identical twin brother."_

"_He had a twin brother that he never knew about."_

"_Apparently so, we were able to track down Richard's mother just after Richard's funeral and her son's funeral. It was part of the deal she made with Prince George when Richard was born. George would take one son and she would keep the other, but they would never know that the other existed."_

"_All his life Richard had a twin and he never knew."_

"_Yes."_

"_So, when Richard had his accident and the agency thought he could survive they switched Richard with his brother."_

"_That's correct."_

"_And that's whose heart was given to Rick, and whose life support Reva turned off."_

"_Yes. His brother's family helped to save Richard's life._

"_Where is he?"_

"_He's in Washington, in the agencies private hospital."_

_There were several minutes of silence with William trying to accept the idea that his half brother was still alive and that he had been for the last five years. "There's more." William finally says, looking over at Jeffrey_

"_Yes, about three weeks to a month after Richard's funeral some agents raided a terrorist group based out of Chicago. One of the men they arrested claimed to have information about Richard's accident. When the agents questioned him he claimed that he was paid to tamper with Richard's car_

"_So, someone did try to kill him? Was it Edmund?"_

"_No, that was our first suspect so the agents showed the suspect a picture of Edmund, but he said it wasn't him. He said it was a woman. So the agents showed him pictures of every female acquaintance Richard had and he was able to identify the woman from one of those."_

"_So who was it?"_

"_Camille."_

"_Camille, Will's mother, Why?"_

"_Apparently she blamed Cassie for all the things that happened down here and for you rejecting her."_

"_She was just down here. I just sent her back to the States because she threatened to hurt Cassie and Will if I allowed Cassie to come back to the island." William says, leaning back._

"_I know." Jeffrey says, as William looks up. "Camille was arrested a few days ago. She's in the agencies custody now. We had to wait until she was in custody because we didn't want to tip her off that Richard was alive, in case she had someone else working for her and have them come after you or Cassie."_

"_You didn't want to tip her off?"_

"_Because Richard survived the accident we can only charge her with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder."_

"_She tried to kill him…."_

"_And she thought she succeeded." _

"_It was premeditated murder, she planned this."_

"_I know, but he survived the accident. We can't make a murder charge stick when the victim is alive. If we charge her with more than attempted murder, she'll walk. And I want to get a conviction."_

"_Would the agency be willing to turn her over to the San Cristobel?"_

"_I don't know, why?"_

"_Because if you turn her over to me, I can charge her with treason and that is punishable by death in this country."_

"_Richard wasn't the Prince or the President when the accident happened. He wasn't the Head of State."_

"_No, but he was my Ambassador at large. He was one of my officials, by extension one of the crown. Attempting to murder a government official would constitute treason."_

"_I can call and talk to them."_

"_Please do, because if she's charged in the States she'll get at the very least 10-15 years. She'll be lucky to serve half that time. She tried to kill my brother. She deserves to be punished much more severely don't you think."_

"_Yes. I'll call and see what I can find out."_

"_Good, you have to tell this to Cassie."_

"_Yes, and I'm not looking forward to it, after everything else I've had to tell her about Richard and my time down here. I have to tell her he's been alive all this time…."_

"_She's going… I don't know."_

"_I know. I wish I could tell her that she wasn't told because Richard asked us not too, but he's in a coma and has been since the accident. The agency decided not to tell her. I had nothing to do with that decision."_

"_You know she's going to want to see him. She probably won't believe he's alive until she does see him. Will the agency let her?" William asks, standing up and walking over to pour a drink, turning to see if Jeffrey wants one._

"_Please." Jeffrey says, as William pours him a drink and then hands it to him before sitting down again. "I don't know. He's not in a regular hospital. He's at the private hospital within the agency and they are extremely serious about security now, especially since 9-11. I'll have to talk to them." Jeffrey replies, after taking a sip of the drink._

"_If you need my help, I can be there when you tell her."_

"_No, I think I need to do this alone."_

"_I think you'll be able to explain it. I'll help if I need to."_

"_Thank you."_

"_I have another meeting I have to get to." William says, downing his drink before he stands up._

"_I think I'll go over to the villa and see if Cassie is back from the museum. Will you tell Ava where I went?" Jeffrey asks, putting his drink on the bar as they exit the sitting room._

"_Yes, she looks like you, but she reminds me of someone else.'_

"_Probably Olivia Spencer."_

"_That's right. What is her connection to this?"_

"_She's Ava's mother."_

"_You and Olivia."_

"_Yes, it's a long story."_

"_That's why she was born on San Cristobel."_

"_Yes, Olivia gave her up for immediate adoption after she was born."_

"_Did you know about her?"_

"_No, we were both young and drunk. It was a one night stand. And there are other details that I can't get into right now."_

"_Does it have something to do with Edmund?"_

"_He's involved but how extensively I don't know." Jeffrey replies, as they walk out of the palace._

"_Could you go fetch one of the palace cars for Mr. O'Neill?" William asks one of the guards standing outside the palace._

"_Yes Sir." The guard replies, leaving immediately as William turns to Jeffrey._

"_There's a possibility that he could be Ava's father, that's why you wanted the DNA sample."_

"_Yes, just to be sure. Ava doesn't seem to care, but after everything that happened after that one night, I need to know." Jeffrey replies, as one of the drivers arrive with one of the palace's cars._

"_Do you want a drive, or would you rather…"_

"_I'll drive myself." Jeffrey replies, staring at the black Mercedes convertible parked in front of them._

"_Alright, do you know how to get to the villa Richard bought for them?"_

"_Yes, it's about a half a mile up the coast road."_

"_That's correct I'll be here at the palace if you need me to help."_

"_Thanks. I'll be back in a couple hours maybe more depending on how she takes it." Jeffrey says, walking around the car and opening the door_

"_I'll be sure to tell Ava. Good luck." William replies, as Jeffrey slips inside closing the door behind him._

"_Thanks." Jeffrey says again, as he starts the car._

"_I'll talk to you later." William says as Jeffrey puts the car in gear. Putting his hand up, Jeffrey pulls away and William goes back into the palace._

_ "RJ, upstairs right now, you're in time out. Will I want you to…. The door bell ringing interrupts Cassie. "Go to the bathroom sweetie, and I'll be there in a few seconds._

_ "Okay." Will replies, still sniffling from crying after he fell._

_ Cassie goes to answer the door as Will walks into the bathroom. "Jeffrey, hi, I wasn't expecting you." She says when she opens the door._

_ "I know, but I need to talk to you."_

_ "William said you were coming down, come on in. I have to take care of Will and then I'll be right with you." Cassie says, walking back into the house, heading towards the bathroom with Jeffrey following her._

_ "What happened?"_

_ "He had a bit of an accident while we were down at the beach. RJ convinced him to climb up on a pile of rocks and jump off and when he did, he fell on some of the rocks and cuts his knees. He'll be okay." Cassie replies, as they walk into the bathroom._

_ "Hey Will." Jeffrey says, kneeling down when he walks into the room_

_ "Hi, Jeffrey." Will replies._

_ "Wow, you remember who I am?"_

_ "Yes sir, you help me come and live with my Daddy." Will replies, as Jeffrey moves back and Cassie takes a warm wash cloth and starts cleaning the cuts._

_ When she has them cleaned, she takes a bottle of peroxide, holding it up to the cuts along with the wash cloth as Will starts to cry. "No Mommy, that hurts."_

_ "Here Cassie." Jeffrey says, picking up Will and then sitting him on his lap. "It's okay." Jeffrey says. "It'll only sting for a couple seconds and then you'll feel better."_

_ "Okay." Will replies, reaching up to wipe away the tears as Cassie starts to pour the peroxide. After a couple minutes she wipes the cuts off and then puts Neosporin on them and a band-aid before Jeffrey puts him down._

_ "You can go play, but don't bother your brother he's in time out." Cassie says, as she puts the medicine away_

_ "Yes ma'am." Will calls as he runs from the room._

_ "Thank you. You didn't have to help."_

_ "You're welcome and I wanted to help." Jeffrey replies, as Cassie throws the wrappers from the band-aids in the trash and then she leaves the bathroom with Jeffrey following her. _

"_William said you had something you need to tell me."_

_ "Why don't we go in the living room?" Jeffrey suggests, sort of stalling._

_ "Okay." Jeffrey follows her into the living room, taking a seat on one of the couches as she walks over to the mini-bar. "Do you want something to drink?"_

_ "I'm fine." Jeffrey replies, as she pulls a bottle of water out._

_ "Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?" Cassie asks, walking over to the other couch and sitting down._

_ "I don't know where to start." _

_ "Why don't you start from the beginning?"_

_ "Okay, this has to do with Richard's accident."_

_ "What about it?" Cassie asks, looking a little shocked. Talking about Richard had been the last thing she expected Jeffrey wanted to talk to her about._

_ "The agency arrested the person responsible for the accident."_

_ "How can anyone be responsible for his accident? It was raining that night and he lost control, that's what Frank told me."_

_ "There was more to it than that, someone tried to kill him."_

_ "What! Who?"_

_ "Camille."_

_ "Camille, as in Camille Johnson, Will's mother."_

_ "Yes."  
"Why?"_

_ "Apparently she blamed you for everything that happened down here with Will and for William rejecting her."_

_ "But why Richard? He was always gentle and kind to her. I was the one that she hated. Why didn't she come after me?"_

_ "She thought you would suffer more if you lost him, like she thought you had taken William and Will away from her."_

_ "But she wanted to give Will up. As to William, we had nothing to do with that. It was his decision to divorce her."_

"_I know."_

"_How did you catch her?"_

_ "She was identified by a suspect after he was arrested in a raid about a month after Richard's accident. She contacted him about tampering with Richard's car and paid him $100,000 to do it. When she returned to the states, agents arrested her in Iowa a few days ago."_

_ "So, she's been arrested."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "What are the charges?"_

_ "Attempted murder…"_

_ "Attempted murder, why not murder? She killed him."_

_ "There's more to it than that."_

_ "What?"_

_ "I don't know how…"_

_ "Wait, you said that someone tried to kill Richard, not that he was killed."_

_ "I know."_

_ "Are you saying…? Did he…? He survived?" Cassie whispers, staring at Jeffrey._

_ "Yes." he replies softly_

_ "Oh my god!" Sitting back and closing her eyes. There are thousand things running through her mind. "He's alive, oh my god he's alive." That was the only thought that she could hold on to. "What happened?" She asks the question so softly that Jeffrey didn't hear her until she repeated the question. "Jeffrey, what happened?" _

_ "It's hard to explain Cassie."_

_ "Tell where my husband is?"_

_ "He is in Washington DC."_

_ "In Washington DC, how long has he been there?"_

_ "Since before his funeral."_

_ "There is no way Richard is alive. They gave his heart to Rick."_

_ "They gave a heart to Rick. It wasn't Richard's."_

_ "Of course it was Richard's, I saw him lying in his hospital room after Reva turned the life support off. I touched him."_

_ "You saw his twin brother."_

_ "His twin brother, Richard didn't have a twin brother."_

_ "Yes, he did. DNA confirmed it."_

_ "DNA, when was there a DNA test performed on Richard?"_

_ "There wasn't. The agency had a DNA test performed on his twin. They matched identical. Richard had a twin right down to the mole on his upper lip."_

_ "How in the world did you find a twin to Richard? And what does your agency have to do with my husband's… survival?" Cassie asks._

_ "It was totally by accident that the agency found Richard's twin. Two of our agents were in Chicago a few weeks before Richard's trip and they spotted him then. At first they thought it was Richard but they soon realized that it wasn't. A couple weeks before Richard's accident this man also had a car accident, a much more serious one."_

_ "So, how does that involve Richard?"_

_ "When the agency heard about Richard's accident they sent agents to Springfield to investigate and they realized that Richard's injuries were far beyond the capabilities of Cedars. So they had his brother brought to Cedars and when Reva left Richard's room that day, they switched them."_

_ "So, the man that's buried in Richard's grave, isn't Richard at all, it's his twin and Richard is alive in Washington DC. It can't be Jeffrey. If Richard was alive he would have contacted me. He would have moved heaven and earth to get back to me."_

_ "He's in a coma. He's been in a coma since we moved him from Springfield."_

_ "He's been in a coma for the last five years. You knew about this when you came to Springfield and you didn't tell me. You let me continue believing he was dead. I married his brother. I slept with you and…."_

_ "We couldn't tell you. Once we learned that Richard's accident wasn't an accident at all but was premeditated and planned by Camille. We had to keep up appearances so she wouldn't get suspicious. We didn't want her coming back and trying to finish the job and possibly hurting more than just Richard."_

_ "I trusted you Jeffrey. It's like finding out all over again that I slept with you here."_

_ "Cassie, I didn't want to lie to you._

"_But you did lie to me."_

"_We had no other choice. She tried to kill a member of the San Cristobel Government, the former head of state. We had to be very careful how we handled this situation."_

_ "This situation, he's my husband. He's been lying in a hospital bed alone, probably wondering where I went and why I wasn't there. I don't give a damn about Camille. She can rot in hell for what she's done. But this… from you… I don't know what to say?" Cassie says, jumping up and running from the house._

_ "Cassie, wait. Cassie." Jeffrey calls, running after her. "Damn." He mutters as he turns to see Will is standing in the door way._

_ "Where did Mommy go?" He asks, as Jeffrey hears RJ call from upstairs. _

"_Mom."_

_ "Where's RJ." Jeffrey asks Will._

_ "He's upstairs, he's in time out for my accident."_

_ "Okay, why don't you go play?"_

_ "Where did Mommy go?"_

_ "She went for a walk, but she'll be back later."_

_ "Okay." Will replies walking back into the playroom as Jeffrey goes upstairs to find RJ._

_ "Hey buddy." Jeffrey says, as he walks into RJ's room._

_ "Jeffrey where's Mom?" RJ asks, shifting positions a little bit._

_ "She had to go out? Is something wrong?"_

_ "Yeah, I need to go to the bathroom, but I can't go until Mom gives me permission to leave my room. I'm in time out."_

_ "Yeah, I heard about the accident on the beach. Go on and used the bathroom but come back here."_

_ "Yes sir." RJ replies, jumping up from the bed and almost running to the bathroom. He returns a few minutes later._

_ "So, you talked your brother into climbing some rocks and jumping off." Jeffrey says, as RJ walks over to his bed._

_ "Yeah, I didn't mean for him to get hurt. It was just a game."_

_ "But what if he had fell and hit his head, instead of his knees. What if the rocks had given way? Will could have been seriously hurt?"_

_ "I know, but we were just playing."_

_ "Even so, you have to be careful how you play. You're the older brother; it's your responsibility to look out for Will and to teach him."_

_ "Yes sir."_

_ "Now I don't know when your mom will be back, but I think it's alright if your time out is lifted as long as you understand that it's your job to look after Will and make sure he doesn't do anything to get hurt, whether you instigate it or not."_

_ "Yes Sir."_

_ "Why don't you go down and play with Will? I think he's pretty lonely down in the playroom."_

_ "Yes Sir. Thanks Jeffrey." RJ says, leaning over to give him a quick hug. He starts for the stairs and then turns to Jeffrey "where's mom?"_

"_She went for a walk." Jeffrey replies, walking over to him._

"_Okay." He says, heading for the stairs with Jeffrey behind him._

_ A few hours later, Jeffrey has fed both Will and RJ and they have both taken a bath. He is putting them to bed when Cassie comes back from her walk. She is a little surprised to see him there. She half expected to come back and find him gone and one of the maids from the palace there watching RJ and Will._

_ "I'm surprised you stayed." _

_ "Where was I going to go? I couldn't leave the boys alone." Jeffrey says, walking into the living room._

_ "You could have called the palace and Alon… William would have sent someone over." She says, following him._

_ "I wanted to make sure you were alright." Jeffrey replies, turning to her._

_ "I'm fine, I'm sorry I ran out on you. Where are the boys?"_

_ "In bed, after you left, I talked to RJ…."_

_ "RJ, I forgot…" Cassie says, walking outside to the patio_

_ "It's alright, I talked to him about what happened and he knows that he can't trick Will into doing things like that. I told him that it was his responsibility to look after Will because he's the older brother. We hung out, wrestled, and played video games. I ordered in and then they got a bath. I read them both a story and they are now fast asleep upstairs. Cassie, about what we were talking about." Jeffrey says, following her._

_ "I don't want to talk about it."_

_ "We have to Cassie."_

_ "I don't know what to think Jeffrey. I don't know if I should believe you. He's been alive for the last five years. You saw me with Edmund. You and I… You knew he was alive. But put all of that aside, what do I tell those kids upstairs. And how do I explain to Richard, if I ever get the chance to, about Edmund, and you, Tammy and Jonathan and that whole situation. Not to mention what just happened with Josh."_

_ "Cassie, I didn't tell you this to turn your world upside down."_

_ "But you did. I haven't even thought about how I feel knowing he's alive. What's going to happen? Will he ever wake up from the coma? Am I supposed to wait and see? What? I lived the last five years in an intense fog. That's why I'm down here. I was trying to clear my mind and get it back on straight and then you show up here and you tell me that the husband that I thought was dead, that I watched as they lower his casket into the ground is actually alive, not to mention that he had a twin brother that was buried in his place. What happened to his family? Did Richard know about him? And if he did why didn't he tell me?"_

_ "Well, those two questions I can answer with one answer. No, Richard had no idea that he had a twin. That was part of the deal George made with Richard's mother. George would take Richard and raise him as prince and his mother would take the other baby and raise him as her only son. "_

_ "Even then George was in control." Cassie replies, sitting down on a lounge chair._

_ "Prince George was a bit of a control freak, yes."_

_ "A bit, he… I'm not even going to get into that. I have enough to think about without getting into what Prince George did to his sons." There were a few minutes of silence and then Cassie asks "Where is he at in Washington?"_

_ "He's in the agencies private hospital."_

_ "Can I see him?"_

_ "I don't know Cassie the security at the agency is pretty tight, especially after 9-11. I don't know if they'll let civilians in."_

_ "I'm not just a civilian, I'm his wife. He needs to know that I'm there and that I never lost faith in him."_

_ "Didn't you loose faith?"_

_ "No, not deep down, I have always loved him and when he died I went looking for that connection we had. And for a moment I thought I found it in Edmund, but then… well, you know how that turned out."_

_ "And then there was me."_

_ "And if I ever in the five years since his death have felt that connection it was with you."_

_ "Thank you."_

_ "Will you see if the agency will let me see him?"_

_ "I can try."_

_ "I would appreciate it."_

_ "I'll call them before I leave for Springfield again."_

_ "What happens to Camille?"_

_ "Right now, she's charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder."_

_ "You said, right now."_

_ "Yes, Alon… William wants me to see if the agency will turn her over to his custody to be tried in San Cristobel for treason."_

_ "Treason, well she certainly deserves to be put to death for trying to kill Richard. Do you think the agency will do that?"_

_ "I don't know. But if they don't are you going to be able to handle her only being charged with those two charges. Because Richard survived the accident, we can't charge her with murder one."_

_ "I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm tired. I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a hot bath and try to relax."_

_ "Then I'll go back to the palace. Ava's probably wondering where I disappeared to."_

_ "She's down here. Is Olivia as well?"_

_ "Ava was with me in Washington, so I asked her if she wanted to come down here and as to Olivia, no she's not down here."_

_ "I thought you two were an item."_

_ "We were; I broke up with her."_

_ "I'm sorry."_

_ "Thank you, I'm going to go. If you want to talk, call me. I'll be at the palace." Jeffrey offers as they walk through the house to the front door.  
"I will." Cassie replies, opening the door for him_

_ Walking out, he turns to her and says, "Good night, Cassie." _

_ "Good night, Jeffrey." Cassie replies, watching as he walks to his car and then pulls away from the house before she closes the door._

5.14


	6. A Fresh Start Chapter 6

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Six_

_Jeffrey is just returning from Cassie's villa when William's car pulls through the palace gates behind him. Turning he is surprised to see William and Ava get out, laughing. "I see you both had a good time tonight." Jeffrey says, as they walk up to him._

"_William took me down to the harbor to look around and then we took a walk on the beach and had dinner at one of the beach café's and watched the sunset, and then we went to one of the new clubs." Ava says, walking up to him._

"_It sounds like fun." Jeffrey replies, looking over at William_

"_It was. I wish you would have gotten back before we left. You would have had fun." Ava says, walking into the palace._

"_I had some business to take care of." Jeffrey replies, following behind her, with William behind them._

"_William told me. Is Cassie alright?"_

"_She's fine."_

"_Are you alright?"_

"_I'm fine, I'm just tired."_

"_Well, I'm wide awake and I feel like a swim." Ava says, holding up the bag in her hand._

"_New swimsuit." Jeffrey asks_

"_Yes, William bought it for me when he found out that I didn't have one." Ava replies, as Jeffrey looks over at him._

"_You can't be in paradise without a swimsuit." William says._

"_Right." Jeffrey replies, still watching him_

"_I'm going to go change." Ava says. "Are you coming Will?"_

"_I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to talk to Jeffrey."_

"_Then I'll meet you in the pool."_

"_I'll be there shortly."_

_Ava walks upstairs, as Jeffrey turns and stares at William for a few seconds before he says. "She has a boyfriend."_

"_I know, she told me. I was simply showing her around the capital and the harbor."_

"_And you bought the swimsuit because…"_

"_She's on a tropical island, she needed a swimsuit. I offered to buy her one."_

"_And if I remember correctly the palace has swimsuits for any guest." William looks away. "Do I want to see what you picked out?"_

"_She picked it out. I only paid for it. Where is this coming from?"_

"_She's my daughter, I don't want her hurt."_

"_I would never hurt her. I respect her and you too much. How did it go with Cassie?"_

"_Just as you suggested, she freaked. She blames me for not telling her when I first came to Springfield, even though we both know I couldn't tell her."_

"_Have you been over there all evening?"_

"_Yes, after I told her, she ran out of the villa and I had to stay with the boys."_

"_I assume since you're here that she came back."_

"_Yes, but she's confused and has questions. She doesn't know where to go or what to do. She wants to see him, but I'm not even sure if the agency will let her."_

"_What did she say about Camille?"_

"_Basically, she can rot in hell." Jeffrey replies, with a smile. "I would not want to be in Camille's shoes if Cassie ever sees her."_

"_Those two have never seen eye to eye." William replies, as they walk upstairs. "Are you going to call the agency tonight?"_

"_No, it's Saturday night, Noah's out for the weekend."_

"_So, you're stuck here until Monday."_

"_At least." Jeffrey replies. _

"_Why don't you take the time to show Ava around? I'm sure she would love to see where her mother grew up and were you spent some of your youth."_

"_Where I spent my youth down here, I don't want her to know about." Jeffrey replies, with a smile._

"_Of course, there are a few places I've been on this island that I won't admit to ever being at, if someone were to ask me."_

"_I'm sure there are. I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long and exhausting day. And I have a feeling tomorrow Cassie's going to be over here with more questions."_

"_You're probably right, but you know you're welcome to join us."_

"_Thank you, but no thank you. I need to be alone with my thoughts right now."_

"_Is there something else that is bothering you?"_

"_No, I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night and then the flight this morning, telling Cassie that Richard's alive. It's just drained me." Jeffrey replies, reaching up and rubbing his face with his hands._

"_I'll tell Ava that you've turned in for the night."_

"_Thank you and Alon… William. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything."_

"_It's okay, you're her father."_

"_Thank you for understanding." Jeffrey replies, as they stop at the door to Jeffrey's suite. "I'm going to go take a quick shower and then I'm going to bed." _

"_Sleep well; we'll see you in the morning."_

"_Thank you." Jeffrey replies as he opens the door to his suite and walks in, closing the door behind him as William continues down the hall to his suite._

_ Ava is already in the pool when William arrives, swimming over to the side as he walks up she asks. "Is he alright?"_

_ "He's fine, he's just tired."_

_ "I got this strange feeling from him, like he is mad at us."_

_ "He's your father, and he has a lot on his mind."  
"About the agency and Richard."_

_ "Yes, how much to do you know about that?" William asks, slipping into the water_

_ "He told me about your brother and his accident."_

_ "Is that all he told you?"_

_ "He told that he survived and that they caught the person who tried to kill him."_

_ "That's it."_

_ "Yes, why?"_

_ "Nothing, I just wanted to know how much you knew." William replies, "Enough about business, I'll race you." Will says, as he kicks off with Ava chasing him. _

_Jeffrey is watching from the window of his suite. "Be careful Ava." He says as he turns away from the window and walks into the bathroom._

_ When they reach the other side of the pool, Ava won by the way; she turns to William, watching him. "You know I had a lot of fun today." Ava says, holding onto the side of the pool._

_ "I'm glad. It's one of my official duties as Prince of San Cristobel to make sure all of my guests at the palace have fun." Ava busts out laughing. "What's so funny?"_

_ "You sound so proper and princely."_

_ "I am a prince. How should I sound?"_

_ "I don't know." Ava replies, smiling at him. William watches her for a couple seconds, before he moves closer to her. _

_ "You have a beautiful smile." He says, reaching out to caress her cheek_

_ "Thank you." There was a couple of seconds of silence before Ava asks, "What was it like growing up here?" She asks, nodding towards the palace._

_ "Oh, I didn't grow up at the palace. I was raised on the other side of the island in a fishing village."_

_ "You weren't raised in the palace?"_

_ "No, I was given up for adoption and Richard was put in my place as prince. I didn't know who my parents were until about a year before Richard was… before his accident."_

_ "Why were you given up?"_

_ "I don't know. Prince George was dead before I found out about my heritage."_

_ "I didn't know I was adopted until last year, when my mother tried to have me killed."_

_ "Your mother tried to kill you."_

_ "Yes, there was an accident while I was watching my sister Emma and I guess she went a little crazy. She didn't know who I was at the time. She hired a guy to kidnap and kill me but it didn't work out. It was the same guy that later killed your niece Tammy."_

_ "Do you… I mean does she…"_

_ "We see each other, but it took a long time for me to forgive her or to trust her. As much as that was a shock, finding out that Jeffrey was my father was even more of a shock."_

_ "How did you find that out?"_

_ "After he ran for mayor, and the story broke about his past with Olivia. She tried to keep him away from me, but we've sort of evolved into a family. Now they've found out that Jeffrey may not have been the one that attacked Olivia that night. They think it might have been your other brother Edmund that attacked her, and that he might be my father."_

_ "How do you feel about that?"_

_ "I don't know Edmund, but from what I've heard he's not a very nice man."_

_ "No, he's not. You know he's in prison down here."_

_ "Yes, Jeffrey told me."_

_ "If you wanted to see him…"_

_ "No, Jeffrey's my father. I know he is."_

_ "You know that Jeffrey asked me to get…?" _

_ "Edmund's DNA, yes, he has to know if he's the one that raped Olivia that night or if he's been innocent all these years. If it were left up to me, I don't care what a DNA test would say, Jeffrey's my Dad but he needs to know so I told him I would have the test run."_

_ "I was going to have the sample shipped to Jeffrey next week, but if you want we can have the test done here and you won't have to wait as long."_

_ "Really."_

_ "Sure, the lab at the hospital downtown could run the test. They don't even have to know who the subjects are. We could have the results in a couple days."_

_ "That would be great." Ava says, moving to give William a hug. "It would take one more load off Jeffrey's mind to know once and for all if he was the one that raped Olivia that night, or if I was conceived through a decision they both made." She says, leaning back and looking up at him._

_ "I'm glad I could help." William replies, staring down into her face. Reaching out, he slowly began to caress her cheek. "You know, you are very beautiful."_

_ "Thank you." Ava replies, smiling up at him as he moves closer to her, wrapping one arm around her waist._

_ "We shouldn't do this." William whispers, staring at her mouth._

_ "I know. I have a boyfriend."_

_ "Your father will…"_

_ "Don't think about Jeffrey, I'm a big girl." _

_ "You certainly are that." William replies looking down her body below the water as Ava moves closer to him. Slowly their mouths come together in a warm kiss. It only last a couple seconds, be it was enough to fan the flames of desire burning inside them. "We shouldn't be doing this. William whispers again, moving closer and kissing her again._

_ "There are a lot of things we shouldn't do." Ava whispers, breaking the kiss._

_ "If…"_

_ "Shhh." Ava says, laying a finger across his lips. He kisses it lightly before she pulls herself out of the water with him following behind her._

_ Jeffrey is standing under the hot spray of the shower as he lets his thoughts drift back to the first night he and Rebeca had spent in St. Petersburg. The next morning they were both scheduled to appear at the club to start surveillance on one of the Russian mob's biggest bosses. They had spent the day in one briefing after another, until they were both exhausted and Colonel Mathews and Lieutenant Russell had released them for the night, with strict orders to stay inside. _

_Rebeca had been the first one to arrive back at the hotel room. The agency had packed up everything they had except for the clothes they would wear the next morning. They had taken everything to an apartment the agency had rented under Jeffrey and Rebeca's aliases. A few minutes later, Jeffrey walks through the door._

"_Beca." He calls, as he closes the door behind him._

"_I'm in here." She calls back. Walking through the suite, Jeffrey finds her in the bathroom. She was getting ready for a hot shower._

_ Turning, Jeffrey leans back against the shower. Closing his eyes he lets his mind drift again._

"_That looks wonderful." Jeffrey says, glancing at the shower._

_ "You want to join me." Rebeca asks, walking up to him and kissing him lightly. "Because, once we leave here tomorrow when we're in public we have to act like we're not involved."_

_ "I know. I'm going to have a hell of a time watching you up on that stage, with those guys watching you, flirting with you and I can't…"_

_ "Don't think about it. Just think about the fact that I'm yours, completely and totally. And I'll prove it every night when our shift is over." Rebeca says, leaning up and kissing him._

_ "I know you will, but right now I want a shower. My shoulder is killing me." Jeffrey says, reaching up and rubbing his right shoulder._

_ "It's the cold, get in and I'll be right back." Rebeca says, leaving the bathroom._

_ "Where are you going?"_

_ "I need to get something." _

_ "Okay." Jeffrey says, as he strips off his clothes and walks towards the shower. She stops and watches him for a couple seconds before she goes into their bedroom. Earlier she had found some oils that the hotel left for guests in one of the drawers of the dresser. Pulling the drawer open, she picks up the Lavender and Chamomile scented oil. Closing the drawer, she walks back into the bathroom, shedding her robe as she goes._

_Jeffrey is standing under the hot spray with his eyes closed when Rebeca opens the door and steps in. Moving up behind him, she wraps her arms around him. "Feeling better." _

"_Yes, the heat is helping the muscles relax." Jeffrey replies, turning in her embrace and looking down at her._

"_Good, but I think I can help some more. Sit down on the stool." Rebeca says, nodding towards the back of the shower._

"_What do you have planned?" Jeffrey asks, walking over to the stool and sitting down._

"_No, straddle it." Rebeca says. "With your back to me."_

_Jeffrey moves to straddle the stool as Rebeca sits down behind him. Taking the bottle, she twists the lid off and then pours some of the oil into the palm of her hand, sitting the bottle on the floor; she rubs her hands together before slowly rubbing his shoulders and the back of his neck. _

_After a couple minutes, Jeffrey feels the muscles in his neck and shoulders relax. "Umm." He sighs. "What is that?" He asks._

"_It's Lavender and Chamomile oil. I found it in the dresser drawer the other day. The maid left it there."_

"_It's certainly working. My shoulder isn't hurting anymore." Jeffrey says, rolling his right shoulder._

"_Good." Rebeca replies reaching down for the bottle. Turning around as she starts to put the lid back on the bottle._

"_Let me see it." Jeffrey says, holding out his hand._

"_Why?" Rebeca asks, holding it out to him._

"_Turn around." Jeffrey says, tipping the bottle and pouring some of the oil into his hand._

"_Jeffrey, I don't need you to rub my back." Rebeca says, turning around._

"_Do you have a clip?"_

"_Yes, behind you on the window sill."_

_Leaning over, Jeffrey picks up the hair clip and hands it to her. "Put your hair up."_

_Taking the clip Rebeca twists her hair up and then clips it in place. "You don't have to do this."_

"_Shhh, you're just as tense as I am." Jeffrey whispers, leaning over and kissing the side of her neck as he rubs his hands together and then reaches for her lower back. _

_The minute he touches her, she sucks in a breath. "You don't need this." Jeffrey whispers, slowly working on the knotted muscles in her lower back. "These have been here for days haven't they." He says, rubbing gently._

"_Yes." She whispers as she feels her lower back start to relax._

"_Why didn't you tell me?"_

"_We've been so busy and we were both so tired when we got home I didn't want to bother you."_

"_Rebeca Ann Whitmere." Jeffrey replies, slowly making his way up her back. "I am never too tired to take care of you." He says, softly, reaching her neck and slowly massaging the muscles in her neck and shoulders._

"_I know." She replies softly, feeling her muscles in her back and neck relax completely for the first time in several days._

_When he is sure she is completely relaxed, Jeffrey wraps his arm around her, pulling her back against him. "I love you." He whispers, kissing the side of her neck._

"_I love you too." Rebeca replies, leaning back against him and feeling his body respond to hers. "You're not so relaxed anymore, darlin."_

"_I know." Jeffrey replies, tightening his arms around her._

_Leaning to the side, she looks up at him. "We haven't even done anything."_

"_I know, all you have to do is be, and I'm there." Jeffrey replies, leaning in and kissing her, deep and long. Turning until she is facing him, she wraps her arms around his neck and moves closer to him, deepening the kiss. After about a minute and a half, Jeffrey pulls away. "Beca, I don't think I can wait…"_

_Standing up, she straddles his lap. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she feels him slip inside her. "Jeffrey." She sighs, slowly rocking against him._

"_Oh, baby." He whispers, pushing against her rocking hips as he wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly against him._

"_Yes." She whispers, reaching for release. She feels it tighten around him, holding him deep inside as he catches her mouth, kissing her deeply, as he pushes harder against her._

"_Yes, yes, yes, JEFFREY!" she cries, as her desire shatters inside her.  
"That's it baby, take me, deep inside." Jeffrey sighs, pushing against her quivering body, filing her with the passion burning inside him. _

"_I love you, I so love you." Rebeca whispers, collapsing in his arms and kissing him. _

"_I love you too." He whispers, holding her tightly against him_

_Jeffrey feels his body surrendering again to the passion burning inside him as he leans against the shower wall. Slowly he opens his eyes; he isn't in the shower in St. Petersburg. Rebeca isn't with him. _

_Realizing he is in the palace of San Cristobel, Rebeca is dead and he is alone he hangs his head as hot tears run down his cheeks. In the back of his mind, he hears her whisper "I think we need to get out of here before the water gets cold." _

_Reaching for the soap, he quickly takes a shower, trying to wash the memories away. Turning the water off, he dries off quickly and then leaves the bathroom. Lying across the bed, he closes his eyes._

_ The next morning, Jeffrey wakes up to the sun shining brightly into his room, rolling over he buries his face in the other pillow, not wanting to get up yet. His body aches and it feels like he hasn't slept at all. His head hurts along with his eyes. Someone knocking on his door forces him out of bed. Walking slowly into the sitting room, who ever wants him knocks again. "What?" Jeffrey barks as he opens the door._

_ "I'm sorry to wake you Sir, but the Princess would like a word with you."_

_ "Princess, when did William get married?"_

_ "No, Mrs. Winslow."_

_ "Oh, Cassie."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "Where is she?"_

_ "She's in his Highness's office."_

_ "Tell her I'll be right down."_

_ "Yes sir." _

_ Jeffrey closes the door and then walks back into the bedroom. Falling back across the bed he lays there for several seconds before he sits up and rubs his face before walking into the bathroom. He returns a few minutes later looking at least a little bit refreshed having washed his face, shaved and used some eye drops to erase the redness from lack of sleep. _

_Pulling out a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt he gets dressed rather quickly before he pulls his tennis shoes back on and leaves his room. Cassie is waiting in William's office when he walks in. "Cassie." He says, closing the door._

_ "I didn't mean to wake you up." She says, turning to him._

_ "I was wake." Jeffrey lies, walking over and sitting down on the couch across from her._

_ "Have you talked to the agency?"_

_ "No. I was going to wait till Monday and talk to Noah."_

_ "Noah, Noah Chase. You know him."_

_ "Yes, he's the senior agent on Richard's accident."_

_ "He and Richard was… are best friend's I thought he was out of the country."_

_ "He was until Richard's accident and then the agency brought him back."_

_ "I didn't know you knew him."_

_ "I know him but I've never worked with him. We met once or twice."_

_ "Do you think they will let me see him?"_

_ "I don't know Cassie, but I can ask."_

_ "I need to see him, with my own eyes." _

_ "I know, and I'll do what I can, but there is a chance that they won't let you in to see him because of where he's at. There's National Security to consider."_

_ "This is my husband… my home… Just try, for me." Cassie pleads_

_ "I will." Jeffrey replies, getting up and walking over to her. "I'll do what I can, but I can't promise that they will let you in to see him." He said, giving her a hug._

_ "Thank you." Cassie says, sitting back. For the first time, she notices the dark circles under Jeffrey's eyes. "Are you feeling okay?"_

_ "I'm fine. Why?"_

_ "You look tired."_

_ "I'm fine."_

_ "I can tell your not."_

_ "It's nothing Cassie, I'll be alright."_

_ "I would like to think that we're friends, even with everything that's happened between us… Would you talk to me?"_

_ "I haven't been sleeping very well." Jeffrey replies, sitting back and sounding very tired._

_ "What's wrong?"_

_ "I've been having a lot of dreams, and I've had other things on my mind. There have been a lot of changes in my life this year."_

_ "What kind of dreams?"_

_ "Different things, I can't really remember them. But I'm sure they'll pass. They have before."_

_ "You've had them before."_

_ "Yes, we all dream Cassie." Jeffrey says, trying to sound unconcerned._

_ "There's something you're not telling me. Maybe I can help you. Maybe it'll help if you talk about what you can remember from these dreams."_

_ "Cassie, just let it go. They'll pass."_

_ "No, you helped me too many times, Let me help you."_

_ "Alright, do you remember a few years ago the picture you showed me of me, Chris Langham and a woman?"_

_ "Yes, you said it she was just someone you knew."_

_ "She was more than that." Jeffrey replies, getting up and walking over to the window behind William's desk._

_ "Okay."_

_ There are a couple of minutes of silence while Jeffrey stands at the window looking out over the garden. He notices Ava and William walking through the garden. Turning he looks back at Cassie. "She was my girlfriend, and we were partners in the agency. We were on assignment in Russia when she was killed."_

_ "Jeffrey…"_

_ "For some reason these last few days she's been on my mind and I've been dreaming about her."_

_ "What happened?"_

_ "I'm not really sure. She left our apartment the day she disappeared and she never returned. The agency never conclusively proved that the body they found was hers or that it was someone else's."_

_ "How did you find out?"_

_ "Two agents showed up at our apartment in St. Petersburg and told me that she was missing. It was the night I was going to propose to her. I had the ring and everything."_

_ "Oh, Jeffrey…."_

_ "They found a car similar to hers at the scene of a fiery accident, and they pulled a body from the wreckage but it was too badly burned to identify, except that it was a woman and all her teeth had been pulled out so they couldn't use dental records to identify her."_

_ "So, you don't know for a fact that she was killed. She may still be alive."_

_ "She would have contacted me. I've accepted that she's dead. I don't understand why I'm dreaming about her now."_

_ "Maybe because of everything that's happened this year, Olivia, finding out you have a daughter, the mayor's race, and these developments with Richard. It's stirred up all those old feelings. When things settle down, the dreams will go away."_

_ "Maybe you're right."_

_ "I need to go get RJ. I promised him that we would spend the day together." Cassie says, as the door to William's office opened and Ava and William walk in._

_ "Good morning." They both say._

_ "Morning." Jeffrey replies._

_ "How are you doing?" William asks Cassie._

_ "I'm alright, I don't think it's sunk in and I don't think it will till I see him for myself. Ava, how are you enjoying San Cristobel?"_

_ "It's great. William has been showing me around. I'm having fun. But I need to talk to Jeffrey."_

_ "Actually, we need to talk to Jeffrey." William says_

_ "Okay, I need to go get RJ, I promised to spend the day with him." She says, as she stands up and walks towards the door. _

_When the door closes behind her, Jeffrey turns to them. "Okay, what's going on?" He asks, looking back and forth between them._

_ "Ava and I were talking last night about Edmund." William says_

_ "What about him?" Jeffrey asks._

_ "You asked William to get a sample of his DNA." Ava says_

_ "Yes, I did. But you both knew that." Jeffrey replies_

_ "Since you're down here, I thought we could get the sample and take the test down here." Ava says._

_ "Actually, the warden where Edmund is being held already sent over Edmund's sample and if you…"  
"Sure." Jeffrey replies._

_ William walks over to the phone. Picking it up, he pushes one of the buttons. After a couple rings, someone answers. "I need to see you, at the palace." William says_

_ "Yes Sir."_

_ William hangs up and then turns to Jeffrey and Ava. "The doctor is on the way." _

_ "How long will it be till we have the results back?" Jeffrey asks._

_ "We should get it back by tomorrow night. I'll tell the doctor to put a rush on it." William said._

_ "I saw you both out in the garden a few minutes ago." Jeffrey says, looking over at Ava._

_ "We were talking." Ava replies_

_ "You and Cassie seem to be in a pretty deep discussion when we came in." William says._

_ "We were just talking." Jeffrey replies, looking away but Ava caught the expression on his face._

_ Someone knocks at the door. Standing William goes to answer the door, thinking that the doctor had arrived to get Jeffrey and Ava's DNA sample. Opening the door, he realized that it isn't the doctor but his assistant Jodi. "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need you too look over these papers before we send them to the Lord Chancellor."_

_ "Okay. " William replies, turning to Jeffrey and Ava. "I'll be back as soon as I can."_

_ "Okay." They both reply as William walks out and closes the door behind him._

_ When the door closes, Ava turns to Jeffrey and says, "You're still dreaming about her."_

_ "What?" Jeffrey asks, looking over at his daughter._

_ "Beca, you're still dreaming about her. She must have been more than someone you just knew."_

_ "Why do you say that?" Jeffrey asks._

_ "Because, you were moaning in your sleep yesterday morning and then you call her name. It woke me up." Ava replies._

_ "She was one of the agents on my team. She was killed in Russia." Jeffrey replies, hedging around the personal details._

_ "So, she just worked for you."_

_ "Yes." Jeffrey replies._

_ As much as Jeffrey tries to hide her importance to him, Ava can tell that this woman meant more to him than just being one of the agents he worked with, but she doesn't get the chance to question him further as William's personal physician walks in office._

_ "I'm sorry I thought his Highness was in here." The doctor says, when he sees Jeffrey and Ava sitting in William's office._

_ "He had to step out to take care of some paper work, but he should be back any second." Jeffrey replies._

_ "He called and said he needed to see me." _

_ "Yes, he needs you to run a DNA test for us." Jeffrey replies, as William walks into the office._

_ "Dr. Reynolds." William says._

_ "Yes, your Highness. This gentleman was explaining that you need a DNA test run."_

_ "Yes." William replies, walking over to one of the paintings hanging behind door. "I need you to take DNA samples from these two and compare it to this." William replies, opening the safe behind the picture and taking out Edmund's sample._

_ "Yes Sir." The doctor replies, opening his bag and pulling out two swabs. Turning to Ava and Jeffrey as they both open their mouths to let him get swabs from each of them._

_ After closing each swab and writing down which is which, the doctor put the swabs in his bag and closes it and then turns to William. "I need those tests run immediately, and run them twice just to be positive of the results."_

_ "We will Sir. I'll have the lab run them immediately."_

_ "Thank you." William replies, opening the office door and escorting the doctor from the office._

6.12


	7. A Fresh Start Chapter 7

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Seven_

_Washington DC, NIS Headquarters_

_ She is standing behind her desk in her office. For the last few nights, she stayed at the center in case the situation changes with Richard. After leaving St. Petersburg she had spent six months in Europe, moving from town to town, country to country until she was sure that he was safe and then she had gone home, arriving just in time to see her mother before the cancer took her. _

_As much as she hated being with her family again, it was the safest place for her, because as much as they pretend to hate her, everyone in that town would have given their lives for her, Russian mob or not, lost soul or not. After her mom had died she had left for the last time. _

_ Moving up to Nashville, she enrolled in Med School and settled into civilian life, about six years into medical school a former agent was brought into the Med Center after being shot in a raid, that's how she became involved with the agency again. The agent recognized her and notified headquarters that she was still alive._

_ After Med school, residency and internships, she moved to Washington and went to work at NIS Headquarters after stipulating that, she would not return to field work. She couldn't take the chance that they would find her. She hated to leave Jeffrey behind, but there was no other way to protect him. Her cover was blown. _

_How the Russian mob had found out that she was an agent for the US. Government and helping the Soviet Government crack down on illegal crime in the country she never figured out, but when she had gone to work that day and Sasha had told her that they knew. She knew she had to protect Jeffrey._

_ "You have to go." Sasha said when she had walked into the club._

_ "Why, what's going on?" Rebeca asked._

_ "They know. He knows your government."_

_ "How?"_

_ "I don't know, but he knows. If you want to stay alive you have to leave, leave St. Petersburg, leave the country, whatever you have to do, but you have to go."_

_ "What about..." She almost asked about Jeffrey._

_ "Your American friend, I don't know. I didn't hear anything mentioned about him, but if Victor sees you two together, he's going to know that he's involved as well."_

_ "I can't leave him."_

_ "You have too." Sasha had insisted, pulling Rebeca out of the club. "Here." She said, pushing into her hand a set of keys. "Drive south out of town about twelve minutes, there's a house sitting back off the road, wait for me there."_

_ "Why are you doing this?"_

_ "Because, I'm not going to let Victor hurt another lady." Sasha replied quickly, looking over her shoulder towards the club. "Go." She said, pushing Rebeca towards the car. "And don't call anyone; don't tell anyone, especially not your American friend. They have your phone tapped and the apartment is being watched."_

_ "How do they have my cell phone tapped, it's a gove…"_

_ "I don't know, but they do, now go." Sasha said, turning and walking back into the club. _

_Rebeca stared after her for a few seconds. She was completely freaked out. She wanted desperately to go back to the apartment but she was terrified they were watching her and that would put both of them in too much danger not to mention compromise the investigation. And if there was one thing that was drilled into her when she was in the Academy was that the mission always came first, partner or no partner, lover or no lover. _

_Slipping into the car, Rebeca had followed Sasha's instructions. She pulled up at house about twelve minutes later. Getting out, she looked around for several seconds before she walked up to the house, her heart beating against her chest. "What if this is a set up? What if Victor is waiting for me on the other side of that door?" She almost turned around and got back into the car, but then a picture of Jeffrey being tortured and killed because she had betrayed him flashed in her mind_

_Reaching out, she slowly tried to door handle, hoping deep inside that the door would be locked. It wasn't, the door swung open slowly when she released the knob. She stood there for a couple seconds waiting to see if anyone would come to the door. Nothing happened, as silence filled the air. Slowly she took a step inside, closing the door behind her._

_She stood in the entrance way for several minutes, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light before she took a step into the main room. The house was rather run down. It looked like no one had lived there for probably ten years. The furniture was ratted and old; the carpet was well worn in spots. And the house smell of stale un-circulated air, it was stifling hot in the house as well. Slowly she walked over to one of the windows, testing it. She raised it about inch to let in some fresh air, afraid to open it more in case it brought attention to the house. Looking around, she realized that at one time someone had lived here._

_As she walked through the house, the feeling that someone lived in the house haunted her. When she reached the kitchen, she was sure that someone lived there when she opened the cupboards and found boxes of food in them along with cans of non-perishable vegetables all with the government seal still on them. _

_On the east side of the living room was a broken down couch, in the corner beside that was a recliner. Along the west wall was bookshelves filled with books, covered in layers of dust. In the northeast corner of the room was a small television set, walking over to it, Rebeca flipped it on and the house was filled with Russian programming. Turning it off, she thought "Why didn't I take the time to learn a little bit of Russian before I came over here?" _

_ Her job at the club, didn't require her to know how speak the language. Being on stage, she had limited contact with the audience. Half the time they didn't even pay attention to her, except for Victor. There had been several times in the last six months that she had to fight off his advances. None of which she told Jeffrey about, she knew exactly what he would do, and she couldn't let him blow the operation because of jealous rage._

_ "Maybe that's how they figured out that I was undercover, because I wouldn't take Victor up on any of his offers." Rebeca thought. _

_She is still standing at the window when someone softly taps on the door to her office before opening it. _

_ "Lt. Col." The nurse says._

_ "Yes." Rebeca replies, turning from the window._

_ "His fever spiked again."_

_ "How high?"_

_ "103, ma'am."_

_ "Okay, up the dose of antibiotics and keep me informed."_

_ "Yes ma'am." The nurse backs out of the room._

_ "What happened?" She thought, turning back to the window. For the last six months he had been stable and then in the last two months he's had repeated bouts with staph infections. "I'm afraid if this continues he'll die." She says to and empty room, turning away from the window she walks back over to her desk and picks up Richard's file. _

_Up to that point he hadn't shown any indication that his body was shutting down, but the continual infections were beginning to worry her. Getting up, she walks out of her office and down the hallway to the elevator, nodding to another doctor as she went. Pushing the button, she waits for the elevator._

_ Jeffrey, William, Cassie and the boys hang out at the palace most of Sunday afternoon until William had to get ready for a state function, promising that he would return as soon as he could possible break away. He left Jeffrey, Ava, Cassie and the boys in the pool. Ava is playing in the shallow end with RJ and Will as Cassie swims over to Jeffrey._

_ "Are you okay?" She asks_

_ "I'm fine, why?"_

_ "Because you been quiet today."_

_ "I got a lot on my mind."_

_ "Any more dreams" Jeffrey looks away but doesn't reply._

"_You have had more." Cassie says, moving till she's in his line of view._

_ "Yes."._

_ "Maybe…"_

_ "I don't want to talk about this Cassie. My dreams aren't your problem. They'll go away in time." Jeffrey says, pulling himself out of the water and walking over to one of the lounge chairs. Cassie follows him._

_ "Jeffrey, I'm not trying to pry. I want to help. I had dreams about Richard for awhile after he … after the accident. And they seemed so real to me and then I would wake up and I would realize that he wasn't there and it felt like losing him all over again. I can imagine this is how you feel now."_

_ "What I feel is frustrated? I've accepted that she's not coming back, she's dead. I can understand dreaming about her right after she disappeared; in fact I did, but now. It's been over twelve years since we were together. I don't understand why I'm dreaming about her now."_

_ "I don't know, unless you haven't really accepted that she is dead."_

_ "Of course, I have. I've moved on."_

_ "Have you? We both know that you go from girl to girl. You never let anyone close to you."_

_ "I let you get close to me." Jeffrey replies. "And I let Marah."_

_ "That's two women in twelve years Jeffrey, how many have you known since she left?"_

_ "I don't want to talk about this."_

_ "All I'm saying is that maybe your mind is forcing you to face the fact that she's gone, and forcing you to admit that you haven't accepted that she's dead."  
"I'm going to go for a walk." Jeffrey says, getting up as Ava walks up._

_ "Where are you going?" She asks, as Jeffrey walks by._

_ "I need to be alone." Jeffrey replies, walking away as she looks down at Cassie._

_ "He's got a lot on his mind."_

_ "Yeah, and that woman is keeping him up too."_

_ "He told you…"_

_ "No, he played it off, but whatever, or whoever she is. It's really got him messed up." Ava says, sitting down beside Cassie._

_ "Your father is a good man." Cassie says, watching Jeffrey walk away._

_ "Yes, he is. So why did you let him go?" Ava asks._

_ "It's a long story, some of which even I don't understand. I'm going to get RJ and we're going to go back to the villa. Will needs to get settled down for school tomorrow."_

_ "Alright." Ava replies, as Cassie gets up and walks over to the pool._

_ "RJ, come on. We need to go."_

_ "But mom, we're…"_

_ "No, Will you come too." Cassie says, motioning for the boys to get out of the pool, which they did reluctantly."_

_ A few minutes later, Ava is alone. Laying back against the lounge she closes her eyes, soaking up the afternoon sun. She isn't sure when she fell asleep, but someone lightly shaking her, woke her up._

_ "Ms. Peralta." The maid says._

_ "Yes." Ava replies, sitting up._

_ "Ma'am, the doctor is here to talk to his highness, but I told him that he's not in the palace. He asked to speak to you or Mr. O'Neill."_

_ "Alright, I'll go see what he needs." Ava says standing up, and wrapping a robe around her she walks towards the palace, followed by the maid. "Where is he?" Ava asks, as they walk into the palace._

_ "In his Highness's office."_

_ "Thank you." Ava says, turning towards William's office._

_ "You're welcome ma'am." The maid replies, returning to her other duties._

_ Opening the office door, the doctor turns, surprised to see Ava walking into the office instead of William or Mr. O'Neill._

_ "I sent the maid to find his Highness or Mr. O'Neill."_

_ "William is at a state function and my Dad is tied up right now. What did you need?"_

_ "I have the results of the DNA tests."_

_ "Do you have them with you?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "Can I see them?" Ava asks, holding out her hand._

_ Reaching into his inside pocket, he pulls out an envelope and hands it to her. Slowly she opens the envelope and pulls the paper out. Shaking it open, she takes a deep breath before she looks down and reads the report._

_ "Jeffrey's my father." Ava sighs in relief. "You're sure." She asks, looking up at him_

_ "Yes ma'am, we ran the tests twice just as his Highness asked."_

_ "Thank you." Ava says, hugging the doctor and completely shocking him. "I've got to go find my Dad." Ava says, as she walks out of the office. "I'll tell William that you came by." She calls as she leaves the office, looking for Jeffrey._

_ When Jeffrey left Cassie and Ava at the pool, he had no idea where he would go but that he needed to get away from them and Cassie's questions and maybe try figure out why he is dreaming about Rebeca again after all these years. He really thought that he had accepted the fact that she was dead and gone. He was just walking through the informal gardens when Ava calls out to him. "Dad." Stopping he turns, watching as she run towards him._

_ "What's wrong?" He asks when she catches up to him._

_ "Nothing." She gasps, trying to catch her breath. "Look at this." She says, handing him the envelop that the Doctor had given her._

_ "What is it?"_

_ "Just look at it."_

_ Opening the envelop Jeffrey pulls the report out of the envelope. Looking down, he starts to read the report until he gets to the part that said, "99.9%" he says, looking up at Ava._

_ "That's right, 99.9%. You're my father. That proves that if Olivia was raped that night you didn't do it."_

_ "But that still doesn't prove beyond a doubt that I wasn't… that what happened between Olivia and I was consensual."_

_ "That is between you and her, but this proves that Edmund was up there and that he raped her and not you. You were innocent."_

_ "If that's true, all those years, they let me think that I had raped her, that I was… I felt so guilty."_

_ "I know."_

_ "And Olivia, I mean she was still raped that night, but to come face to face with the man she was told raped her. That nearly killed her and now she has to go through all that all over again."_

_ "Yes, but at least she'll know the truth and she'll know that her rapist is actually locked up and not walking around free. We should go celebrate."_

_ "Celebrate what?" _

_ "That you were cleared."_

_ "Even if I didn't actually rape her, I still took advantage and then I left her alone."_

_ "You both were young, you made a mistake." Ava says, putting and arm around his waist and squeezing him slightly. "Why don't we go back to the palace and see if William's back and we'll go out and celebrate?"_

_ "Okay." Jeffrey replies, as they start back to the palace._

_ William is walking into the palace when Jeffrey and Ava walk in from the garden. "Hey you two, I figured you would still be in the pool."_

_ "Cassie went home, so we got out." Ava says. "How was the state thing?"_

_ "Fine, I came back as quickly as I could."_

_ "Well good, because we're going out to celebrate."_

_ "What are we celebrating?" William asks, looking back and forth between Ava and Jeffrey._

_ "We got the results back." Jeffrey says, holding up the envelop, that's in his hand._

_ "If you're celebrating then that means…"_

_ "That Jeffrey's my father." Ava bursts out._

_ "And that's a good thing." William asks, smirking at Jeffrey._

_ "Of course it is." Ava replies, reaching over and slapping him._

_ "No, I know it is." William says, smiling as he held out his hand. "Congratulations."_

_ "Thank you." Jeffrey replies._

_ "Then, let's go." William says_

_ "Wait, I can't go like this." Ava says._

_ "You look fine." William replies. _

_ "I'm in my swimsuit, I have to change. I'll be right back." She says, running up the stairs to the second floor. _

_When she returns twenty minutes later, William has changed and they are waiting for Ava in the courtyard. As she came out of the palace, both men stop talking, staring as she walks towards them._

"_Speechless, is a good thing." She says when she reaches them._

"_You're beautiful." William says, as he leans over and kisses Ava's cheek. Jeffrey notices the gesture but doesn't comment as he hugs his daughter. _

"_Are you ready?" He asks when he steps back._

"_Yes, I'm sorry it took longer than I thought. I had to take a shower."_

"_Its fine, we were just sitting out here talking." William says. "But if you're ready."_

_ "We can go." Ava says, taking the arm Jeffrey offers. William notices that Jeffrey makes sure that he is the one to escort her back into the palace. He doesn't say anything, but he notices._

_ The next morning Cassie is back at the palace, waiting for Jeffrey to see if he has contacted Noah. By the time they had returned to the palace the night before, it was too late to call. He and Ava were scheduled to return to Springfield that evening on the royal jet. Jeffrey is just leaving his suite when one of the maids stops him. "Sir, her Highness is waiting for you in the courtyard."_

_ "Thank you." Jeffrey replies, heading towards the courtyard. "Cassie." He says, as he walks down the steps to the courtyard._

_ "Jeffrey." She replies, turning towards him._

_ "I was about to call him." Jeffrey says, pulling his cell phone from his pocket before she can ask._

_ "I don't want to pressure you, but…"_

_ "You need to know, I understand Cassie, better than… well maybe not better than but just as much as you do."_

_ "Thank you." Cassie replies, as Jeffrey punches in Noah's private number and his code. After a couple rings, Noah picks up._

_ "Jeffrey."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "What's up, we haven't worked anything out yet?"_

_ "I know. I need to talk to you about Richard."_

_ "It's Cassie."_

_ "Yes, she wants to see him."_

_ "I figured she would. I'm surprised she didn't demand to come immediately after you told her."_

"_It was a bit of a shock for her and I told her right up front that there might be a possibility that the agency wouldn't let a civilian into the center."_

"_Right now, that's not our main concern. I'm not sure it's a good idea for her to be up here. He's got a staph infection right now. They're fighting it with antibiotics but his fever is spiking."_

_ "She needs to see him."_

_ "I'll see what I can do. It'll be up to his doctor, if she allows visitors."_

_ "Alright, William wanted me to talk to you about the other matter. Let me talk to Cassie and I'll call you back."_

_ "Okay, I'm going down to check on him. I'll have an update and I'll ask about Cassie coming to see him." _

_ "Please do." Jeffrey replies, hanging up a few seconds later._

_ "What did he say?" Cassie asks_

_ "They're not sure; he's has a serious infection right now."_

_ "How serious?" Jeffrey didn't want to tell her how serious it was. "Jeffrey, how serious." But he couldn't avoid it._

_ "He has a staph infection Cassie. Their treating it with antibiotics right now but his fever keeps spiking."_

_ "How did he get a staph infection?"_

_ "There are many ways he could have gotten the virus. He could have always had it and his body being in a weaken state opened him up to the infection. He's been lying in that bed for several years now."_

_ "Does this mean that he'll die? He can't have survived this long and die, Jeffrey. He can't. I have to see…, he needs to know that I'm there. That I've always been there." Cassie stops for a couple seconds. The realization hitting her that what she had just said was the truth. She had never left him. Her heart was still with Richard, even through Edmund, and Jeffrey and then Josh. Those relationships had never worked because her heart still belonged to Richard. "It always will." Cassie whispers._

_ "What was that?" _

_ "Nothing, but I have to see him. He has to know that I never left him."_

_ "I'll see what I can do when I call Noah back, but ultimately it's up to Richard's doctor as to whether you're allowed to see him."_

_ "She can't keep me from my husband."_

_ "How do you know his doctor is a she?" _

_ "I don't, it was a figure of speech."_

_ "I'll talk to Noah, and we'll see. I have to call him back in a few minutes to discuss Camille."_

_ "About transferring her down here."_

_ "Yes, how do you know about that?"_

_ "William and I were talking about it before you came down. If you can convince the government to turn her over to William, I'm all for it. She tried to kill my husband."_

_ "I'll talk to Noah about it." _

_ "Thank you, I'm going to go down to the children's museum. I've been spending a lot of time down there, working and volunteering. It's sort of helped, and I feel closer to Tammy down there. She's the reason I built the museum. She loved to go to the Children's museum in Springfield and when I married Richard I suggested that San Cristobel could benefit from such a place for the underprivileged kids on the island. He loved the idea and helped me get it built. It opened just a few months after our son was killed."_

_ "I'm sorry Cassie." Jeffrey says, walking over to her and lightly rubbing her shoulder._

_ "It's okay, because I got Will out of it. I know he doesn't replace the child that Richard and I lost but I would truly be lost without that little boy." _

_ "I know."_

_ "I'm going to go." _

_ "I'll call Noah and when I have a decision I'll let you know."_

_ "Thank you." Cassie says, hugging him quickly before she walks into the palace._

_ When Cassie leaves, Jeffrey picks up his cell phone and calls City Hall. After a couple rings, his assistant Stacy answers. "City Hall, Mayor's office."_

_ "Stacey, its Jeffrey."_

_ "Oh, Mr. Mayor. How are you doing?"_

_ "I'm fine, has anything happened."_

_ "Not really sir, Spaulding is petitioning the city for permits to build a condominium close to the lake. There is a town meeting scheduled to discuss the project, before the zoning committee and the city council. So far, most of the residents are against the project. We have group suggesting plans for further development on 5__th__ street and expanding Main Street."_

_ "So it's pretty much business as usual."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "I want the projections on the Spaulding development on my desk when I get back, and call Josh Lewis; I want his opinion on the project."_

_ "Yes sir."_

_ "Have you heard from Detective Mallet?"_

_ "No sir."_

_ "Okay, I'll get back with you later."_

_ "Yes sir."_

_ Jeffrey hangs up a few seconds later, punching in the number to Lieutenant Jamison's line at the agency, he waits for him to answer. "Hello…." _

_ "Hello, Jamison…"_

_ "…you've reached the desk of Lieutenant Jamison…."_

"_Damn." Jeffrey mutters as he listens to the rest of the message._

"…_I'm not able to get to the phone right now, if you will please leave message I will be happy to return your call."_

_When his voice mail finally beeps, Jeffrey said. "Lieutenant Jamison, Its Col. O'Neill I need to speak to you about that matter we discussed. Please call me back." He hangs up. He has only been off the phone a couple seconds when it starts to ring. Glancing down, he sees that it is Noah pushing talk he answers the call. "Noah."_

"_Jeffrey." _

"_How is he?"_

"_His fever is still spiking, they're trying a stronger antibiotic."_

"_What did the doctor say about Cassie seeing him?"_

"_She thinks it'll be too much for him. He's really weak and she doesn't want to expose Cassie to the infection."_

"_So, it's contagious."_

_ "Yes, highly contagious."_

_ "Okay, I'll tell her that she can't see him right now. But if he gets worse, she has to see him Noah."_

_ "I know. About the other matter you wanted to talk to me about."_

_ "Yes, William suggested that we turn Camille over to him, to be tried in San Cristobel."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Richard was a government official with the San Cristobel Government when the accident happened. He can charge her with more than just conspiracy and attempted murder."_

_ "Like treason."_

_ "Exactly, and you know the penalty for treason in San Cristobel."_

_ "Yes, it's death."_

_ "And I would be willing to bet that Camille will be found guilty."_

_ "I'll talk to the Director."_

_ "Okay."_

_ "I'll let you know what the Director's decision is. Tell Cassie to hang in there. We're doing everything we can for Richard."_

_ "I'll tell her, I don't know how much comfort that will be."_

_ "I know, but it will be something."_

_ "I'll talk to you soon."_

_ "Okay." _

_ Jeffrey has just hung up from the call with Noah when William walks into the courtyard. "I was looking for Ava." _

_ "I think she went with Cassie to the Children's museum. I wanted to ask you about this thing."_

"_I knew this was coming."_

"_I'm just curious what you guys are?"_

_ "We're friends." _

_ "Are you sure that's all you are? Because it seems like you're both getting really close?"_

_ "We're friends, that's all." Jeffrey nods as William turns to go back into the palace._

_ "I also talked to Noah." Jeffrey says, stopping him again._

_ "How is he?"_

_ "He's got a serious staph infection. They are treating it with antibiotics but his fever is still spiking."_

_ "Does Cassie know?"_

_ "Yes, I told her this morning. I also told Noah about your suggestion."_

_ "What did he say?"_

_ "He said he would bring it up to the Director and would let me know his decision."_

_ "He realizes that this is the better solution. If you allow me to take custody of Camille she will be tried for treason, which carries a much stiffer sentence than charging her with conspiracy and attempted murder in the US."_

_ "Yes, he realizes the differences and he'll explain the differences. After that it's up to Director to decide whether to precede in the US courts or turn her over to you. Personally, I think you're right, and I know Cassie feels the same way, right now it's a waiting game."_

_ "So we wait. Did you contact Olivia about the DNA testing?"_

_ "No, I thought we would wait to tell her once we are back to Springfield."_

_ "I'm going to go work on some stuff."_

_ "Alright."_

_ William leaves, and Jeffrey goes to the front of the palace to find one of the pages and ask them to have a car brought around for him. He is waiting on the car, when Cassie and Ava walk up._

_ "Cassie, I was just coming to see you." Jeffrey says, walking up to them._

_ "Did you hear from Noah?"_

_ "Yes." Jeffrey replies, looking over at Ava. _

_ "I'll just go upstairs."_

_ "Actually William was looking for you earlier." Jeffrey says._

_ "Alright, I'll go see if I can find him."_

_ "What did Noah say?" Cassie asks when Ava is out of hear shot._

_ "Why don't we go upstairs?" Jeffrey says, walking towards the stairs._

_ "Okay." Cassie says, following behind him._

_ Before they reach the sitting room, Jeffrey stops one of the maids and asks her to call the garage and tell them not to send the car around. When they reach the sitting room, Jeffrey steps aside to let her enter first, following behind her and closing the door behind them._

_ "You spoke to Noah?" Cassie asks, turning to face him._

_ "Yes."_

_ "What did Richard's doctor say? Can I go see my husband?"_

_ "Not right now…"_

_ "But…"_

_ "His fever is very high Cassie, it keeps spiking and the type of staph infection that he has is highly contagious. He's also very weak."_

"_But maybe I can make him fight." Cassie says, pleading._

"_You have to think about RJ and Will, what will happen to them if you get sick? As soon as Richard gets out of this, I'm sure that the doctor will allow you to see him. Just give it a few days."_

"_Alright." Cassie replies, giving in. "Will you keep me posted?"_

"_Yes, along with William."_

"_Did Noah say anything about Camille?"_

"_I told him about William's offer and he said he would bring it to the Director's attention."_

"_Thank you for all that you've done Jeffrey." Cassie says, walking over to him and hugging him._

"_You're welcome. I promised Richard I would look after you. Grant it I haven't done the best of job, but…"_

"_But I haven't been a willing participant either." Cassie says, smiling up at him._

"_You…"_

"_I made it difficult, I know I did and I'm sorry."_

"_You were hurting Cassie." _

"_I'm still sorry for all the stuff I put you through."_

"_I need to go pack. Ava and I are supposed to leave in a few hours." Jeffrey says, hugging her. "You'll be okay." He says, leaning back_

"_I will when I see him again."_

"_It won't be long." Jeffrey says, releasing her._

"_I'm going to go get RJ and go back to the villa." Cassie says, walking towards the door, stopping she turns back around and walking over to the desk, pulling out a piece of paper she writes something down before she walks back over to Jeffrey._

"_That's my phone number at the villa, and my cell #. Call me if you hear anything about Richard, or if you want to talk."_

"_I will."_

"_You both have a safe flight."_

"_Thank you." Cassie leaves and Jeffrey goes back to his suite._

7.13


	8. A Fresh Start Chapter 8

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Eight_

_The flight back to Springfield is uneventful; Jeffrey and Ava arrive around seven. Mike is there to meet the plane after Ava called to tell him when they would be arriving. Whatever had happened between William and Ava, Jeffrey doesn't ask, but he is fairly certain that more than a friendship had developed between them. Returning to the Beacon, Jeffrey is more than surprised to find Olivia outside his door, waiting for him._

"_What are you doing here?" Jeffrey asks, pulling his key from his pocket and opening the door._

"_You followed Cassie to San Cristobel?" She asks, following him into his suite._

"_No, I went to San Cristobel to talk to her and Prince William."_

"_What could you possibly have to talk to her about? And why did you take Ava with you?"_

"_Mike was out of town last weekend, I had to go to Washington to take care of some business and see an old friend. I took Ava with me. The trip required me to go to San Cristobel; I thought Ava would like to come along to see where she was born and where you grew up."_

"_What did you need to go to San Cristobel for?"_

"_What I do is not your concern anymore Olivia, except for this, while we were in San Cristobel we had the DNA tests run and it proves conclusively that I am Ava's father, so in that we are still connected. Why I went to San Cristobel is between me, Cassie, and Prince William. That's all I can say." Jeffrey replies, holding the door open for her to leave. She stands in the middle of his suite. "You need to go Olivia."_

"_It didn't take you long to go running back to Cassie."_

_Closing his eyes, he feels his fist clinch before he opens his eyes and releases the door handle. Walking over to her, he takes her by the arm and moves her towards the door as he spoke. "I didn't go running back to Cassie, even if I wanted too, I can't. And I don't owe you any explanation as to why I went to San Cristobel, or what the trip was about?"_

"_As a tax paying citizen…"_

"_Olivia, you're making a fool of yourself, something I thought you had too much class to do. Go back to Emma and take care of her, we're finished, please." Jeffrey says, leading her out of his suite and closing the door before she can turn around and reply._

_Walking over to the mini bar, he pulls out a bottle of scotch and pours a stiff drink, swallowing it whole before he walks into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he is walking out with a towel wrapped around his waist when someone knocks on the door._

"_Olivia, go away." Jeffrey says, loud enough for whoever is on the other side to hear as he walks across the room to the door. Pulling it open, he is surprised to see Mallet on the other side._

"_Are you having lady problems?"_

"_Mallet, sorry. I just got back from San Cristobel and I was in the shower. Come on in, and I'll get dressed." Jeffrey says, opening the door and letting him in as he walks across the room to his closet._

"_I've been trying to reach you." Mallet says, as he walks in and sits down in one of the chairs across from the bed._

"_Yeah, I haven't checked my messages. I just got back less than an hour ago." Jeffrey says, from the closet._

"_We've uncovered some interesting information while you were gone, about Doris and Alan."_

"_Oh really." Jeffrey replies, walking out of the closet in jeans and pulling a t-shirt down_

"_Yeah, it seems that Doris might have intimidated the jurors to make sure that Josh Lewis was convicted of Alan's attack."_

"_How do we know that?"_

"_One of the jurors approached me at the station a few days ago, said he had proof that Doris used intimidation to make sure they came back with a guilty plea."_

"_How?"_

"_He was afraid to say when I talked to him but we're supposed to talk tonight. Did you get a hold of your contact in the agency?"  
"Yes, he's going to contact me when he hears from the Australian government."_

"_This is the most solid lead we've had. We looked over her bank statements and there's nothing there. And I've interviewed everyone in the DA's office, either they don't know anything or they are too terrified to say anything."_

"_It's probably the later. I figured you wouldn't find anything in Doris bank accounts. She's smarter than that, and Ashley said that Alan never paid her off with cash, it was always gifts for her or Doris."_

"_Alan bought gifts for Ashley, Why?"_

"_Apparently to help out with her school supplies. Ashley said he would do that when Doris thought it was becoming too obvious with the expensive jewelry and gifts."_

"_How do you know that?"_

"_Ashley talked to me before I left for Washington. She said that Doris would receive calls from Alan at home and the next night Doris would come home late, usually with and expensive piece of jewelry or sometimes a gift for her."_

"_There's certainly nothing wrong with the DA getting calls from one of the most prominent citizens in town." _

"_That's true, but if she only got them from Alan and not the Lewis's or the Bauer's don't you think that's a bit strange."_

"_We could pull her phone records for the last few years that should be all we'll need to prove a pattern of calls." _

"_I'll talk to Judge Reynolds about it. He owes me a favor anyway."_

"_Okay."  
"See if you can get that juror from Josh's trial to go on the record."_

"_I will. Are you going to be in town for a while?"_

"_For right now, yes. That could change in a few days though."_

"_You want to tell what you're doing?"_

"_I could but then…"_

_ "You would have to kill me." Mallet says, standing up. "I get it." _

_ "Sorry, I hope this is the last thing I'll have to take care of." _

_ "If you need any help…"_

_ "I think I've got this one pretty much under control, as long as everything goes as planned."_

_ "Don't we always think that, just before it all blows up in our face?"_

_ "That is so true, but seriously everything is fine."_

_ "Alright, I'll let you know when I talk to the juror." Mallet says, walking towards the door._

_ "Good." Jeffrey replies, following him. "How's Dinah by the way?"_

_ "She's good. Vanessa is helping out a lot."_

_ "Has there been any change with Blake?"_

_ "No, the doctor's say it's a wait and see game."_

_ "Okay." Jeffrey says, opening the door for him._

_ "I'll check back in a few days." _

_ "Good."_

_ Mallet leaves and Jeffrey closes the door behind him. After checking his messages and finding that Mallet had left him several, he deletes them all and then goes to bed. _

_The next morning Jeffrey is up early. He was so exhausted the night before that he didn't even dream about Rebeca, which kind of saddened him. Pushing the covers back, he sits up, stretching, he goes to the bathroom before getting dressed for his first official day as Mayor of Springfield._

_ The interim Mayor would be handing over the office to him later that morning and he had several meetings scheduled with council members and city leaders before lunch. And then sometime today, he still had to find time to call Washington and check on Richard before he talked with William and Cassie later in the week. Thinking about Cassie, made him remember Olivia and her waiting for him outside his room._

_ "Please do not let her be out there this morning." Jeffrey thought as he opens the door. The hallway is empty and he breathes a sigh of relief as he leaves for city hall. He is walking in the door when his assistant comes up to him._

_ "Mr. Mayor." She says, following him into the building._

_ "Good Morning Stacey" Jeffrey says, turning around._

_ They walk down the hall in silence and when they reach the entrance to the mayor's office, Jeffrey holds the door for her. _

_ "Is there anything you need?" Stacey asks, as they walk into the mayor's office._

_ "We can start with a cup of coffee." He replies, smiling as he closes the door to his office behind him. _

_ "Mr. Mayor. Mayor Roberts says, as he looks up and realizes Jeffrey has walked in._

_ "Bob." Jeffrey says, walking over to his desk "What do we have on the agenda today?" Jeffrey asks, putting his briefcase on the floor by his chair. _

"_We have a meeting with Doug Braddox. He is the councilmen for first district and then we have a meeting with Tony Matthews who is the head of the zoning committee, and Councilmen White for the fifth district. We're meeting with them this morning and then we have a meeting with Rev. Rutledge and Josh Lewis about a program they want to start at Juvenile Hall. And then Robert Marks, from accounting will be in this afternoon for a meeting about the budget. And then Olivia Spencer has…"_

_ "What?" _

_ "I said we have a meeting with Josh Lewis and Rev. Rutledge…"_

_ "No the other, about Olivia Spencer?"_

_ "Yes, she has a meeting with me about a proposed change to the zoning laws around the Beacon hotel. I think she's looking to expand, but right now the land around the Beacon is zoned for residential development." Jeffrey tunes out, as he realized that he is going to have to deal with Olivia and he is desperately trying to think up some excuse to get out of the meeting. "Jeffrey, is there a problem?" Bob asks. "Hello."_

_ Blinking, Jeffrey came back to reality. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else."_

_ "Yes, Ms. Spencer. Is there something wrong? I know that you and Ms. Spencer have a bit of a history together."_

_ "Its fine, but I will have to miss that meeting. I have some personal business I need to take care of." Jeffrey says. He doesn't but he also doesn't want to be alone in this office with Olivia either, especially after the way she behaved last night in his room._

_ "I'll have one of the assistants meet with her."_

_ "Thank you." Jeffrey says, in obvious relief._

_ "Then we need to get started. I'm sure Councilmen Braddox and Mathews are in they're offices by now." Bob says, standing up. "I'll take you to meet them."_

_ "Okay." Jeffrey replies, standing up and following him out of the office._

"_I was just bringing in the coffee." Stacy says to Jeffrey._

"_Here, I'll take it." He says, taking the cup as they walk out of the office._

_ For the next few hours, Jeffrey sits through meeting after meeting with different council members. He managed to sit through the meetings with Josh and Rev. Rutledge without throttling Josh and when lunch came around he is happy to find some quiet time at Company before he has to go back and dodge Olivia for the next couple hours. Around three that afternoon, he finally finds the time to call Washington to check on Richard. Pulling out a black cell phone, he dialed Noah's number at the agency. After a couple rings, Noah picks up._

_ "Hello."_

_ "Noah, its Jeffrey, how is he doing?"_

_ "He's better but he's not out of the woods yet. His fever is coming down and it hasn't spiked in almost twelve hours, which is a good indication that the antibiotics are working."_

_ "And about the other?" _

_ "I've spoken with the Director. He's willing to consider the transfer, if it will be guaranteed that she will face charges."_

_ "Oh, I can guarantee that. He's furious with her."_

_ "Good, I'll let the Director know and I'm sure that we'll be making the transfer before long."_

_ "What about Cassie?"_

_ "It's still up in the air until the infection is gone we can't know anything."_

_ "Alright, I'll tell her."_

_ "You're taking on a lot here Jeffrey."_

_ "I know, but I made a promise and I sort of feel responsible for her, at least till he's able to take care of her himself, if, he ever is."_

_ "He will be, I have a feeling he's coming back and she just might be what he needs to come back."_

_ "You maybe right. I'll be in touch."_

_ "Alright, I'll talk with the Director and we'll get moving on the transfer."_

_ "Good, because I know William's anxious to get this taken care of, if for nothing more than to get some closer for his son."_

_ "How is he?"_

_ "He's fine, he looks really happy when I was down there."_

_ "Did you see Edmund?"_

_ "No."_

_ "You know there's a chance if he finds out that Richard's alive, he'll try to finish what Camille started."_

_ "He can't, William's not going to let him out of prison. He made a fatal error using Will last summer."_

_ "Alright, I need to go. I'll talk to you in a few days."_

_ "Alright." Jeffrey hangs up after that._

_ NIS Headquarters, Washington DC._

_ Rebeca walks into Richard's room. Picking up his chart, she glances over it and notes that he had been given another dose of antibiotics and that his fever was still hovering around 100 degrees, but that it hadn't spiked in about twelve hours._

_ "Seems like you're on the mend, Mr. Winslow." Rebeca says._

_ Reaching up and brushing a few strands of hair off his forehead. She notices the twitching of his fingers, but thinks that it is only involuntary muscle spasms. A lot of coma victims did that, although most family members thought it was an indication that they were waking up. _

"_Alright, Mr. Winslow. I'll be back in a few hours. I'm going to go home and catch a couple hours of sleep and then I'll be back. You keep fighting." She says, walking away from his bed. She completely missed the eye movement as she walks out of his room._

_ Rebeca's home is a small one bedroom apartment just west of Washington DC. When she graduated from Med School in Nashville, and finished up her internships and residency she immediately moved to Washington to begin working at the agencies private hospital. _

_Medicine had been her saving grace after Russia, loosing Jeffrey and then her mother. She poured her heart and soul into Med School, spending nearly every night up till midnight or later studying, she graduated first in her class, specializing in internal medicine. She spent her residency and internship at Vanderbilt Medical Center, and was completely expecting to join the staff there until the agent came into the ER and recognized her. Her teachers were sad to see her leave Vanderbilt after her residency ended, but she had little choice in the matter._

_ She had several sessions with the Director during the months following them finding out that she was alive. Why she hadn't come back to headquarters that day? Why she hadn't contacted them after the operation was over? How her cover was blown? Which she still had no way of explaining, nor did they. _

_She begged the Director not to tell Jeffrey she was alive. She couldn't face him. They had so many plans, and she was fairly certain that if she had returned the evening she disappeared that he was going to pop the question, and she would have accepted, even if it did go against regulations. She didn't care, she loved him that much, and she still did. _

_ In all the years since St. Petersburg there had been no one else. Several men offered and she even went out on a couple dates while she was in college, but none of them could compare to him, and she couldn't forget what they had. If she couldn't have Jeffrey, she didn't want anyone else. There were times, on cold winter nights that she wished for someone to come home too. Or that she had kids to take care of, but she couldn't see herself with anyone but him, and she didn't want to have anyone else's kids._

_ Walking in her front door, she immediately closes and locks it. There were several times in the last twelve years that she blindly made her way home. Walking past her machine, she pushes the button for her messages, as she walks into the kitchen and put her keys and purse on the counter as she opens the refrigerator. Like always the shelves are pretty much bare. She was rarely home, so she rarely has food to eat at home, most times she grabs something on the way. _

_Closing the refrigerator, she walks through to her bedroom, pulling off her scrubs as she goes and tossing them in the dirty clothes as she kicks off her tennis shoes, she heads towards the bathroom and the shower before she goes to bed for a few hours of much needed sleep. _

_The training at the agency conditioned her to be able to go hours without sleep and still be able to function. Many of her classmates were amazed at her ability to go hours without sleep. She was sure that most of them thought she took something that kept her awake. _

_Turning on the water, she waits till the temperature is perfect before she steps inside the shower, remembering that Jeffrey liked really hot showers. Mostly because it helped relax his shoulder and kept the cold from being too much for him to handle. He had been severely injured on and operation a couple years after they became partners and for a while the doctor's at the hospital wasn't sure he would be able to use his right arm. The damage that had been done to his shoulder and upper arm was almost enough to force his retirement from the agency._

_After Russia, she kept up with his career. She knew about his time in San Cristobel with the Winslow's. She knew about his time in Europe with Dinah and the fake Cassie thing. That had nearly gotten him kicked out of the agency and terminated permanently if she hadn't've spoken to the Director. _

_After that he was taken off active duty for a while and transferred to New York where she followed his career as the DA of New York. He really was a brilliant lawyer. And his conviction rate was better than any other DA in the history of New York City's DA office. He was only put back on active duty when Salerno started breaking into the drug market and the agency was able to trace his dealings back to San Cristobel. Using Jeffrey's connections to the country had been the best logically step._

_Turning the water off, she pulls the curtain back reaching for a towel. Drying off quickly, she walks back into her bedroom, tossing the towel on the floor she stretches out across the bed, closing her eyes. Three hours later, she wakes to the buzzing of her pager. Grabbing it off the night stand, she looks at the number and realizing it is the hospital she reaches for the phone, dialing the number from memory. After a couple rings, one of the nurses picks up the line._

"_This is Dr. Whitley, what's going on?" _

"_He's awake." The nurse replies._

"_Who's awake?" Rebeca asks, still a little asleep._

"_Mr. Winslow, he woke up about five minutes ago."_

"_He's awake, completely awake." Rebeca says, sitting up._

"_Yes."_

"_I'll be right there." Rebeca says, getting up and opening her underwear drawer as she hangs up. She is dressed and out of the apartment in a matter of minutes._

_There is a flurry of activity around Richard's room when she arrives. She can tell that he is more than a little unnerved by all the attention he is getting. She immediately clears his room. "Everyone out." She orders, walking over to the bed. The nurses and doctor's leave the room as she speaks softly to him. "Mr. Winslow, I'm Dr. Whitley. How are you feeling?"_

"_Like hell." Richard replies, around the ventilator._

"_I imagine you would. Do you know your name?"_

"_Richard Winslow, I'm Prince of San Cristobel. Where the bloody hell am I?"_

"_First, let take care of that." Rebeca says, pointing to the ventilator as she lowers his bed. After a couple seconds, she pulls it out of his throat and then puts oxygen in his nose. "Is that better?"_

_Richard nods, and then croaks "Can I have some water?"_

"_Yes." She says, pouring him a glass from the pitcher that is sitting beside the bed, holding it because he is still weak. She lets him take a couple sips before she puts it down._

"_Where am I?" He asks again. His voice sounding much stronger._

"_You're in a private hospital in Washington DC." Rebeca replies. "I've been taking care of you since you were brought in."_

"_Where's Cassie?"_

"_Cassie?"_

"_Yes, my wife Cassie." Richard replies, looking around the room._

"_I'm sorry but she's not here."_

"_She's… no she can't be." Richard starts to panic._

"_Calm down, Mr. Winslow."_

"_But I have to see her. She has to be alive."_

"_One thing at a time. You've been very sick and you're still recovering."_

"_No, I have to see her." Richard says, trying to sit up but Rebeca restrains him. _

"_I'll look into finding her. Do you remember anything?"_

_Richard stops struggling as he thinks back to the night he was returning to Springfield from Chicago five years before. "I was on my way back to Springfield when I lost control of the car. That's the last thing I remember. How long have I been here?"_

"_Five years."_

"_Five years! That can't possibly be. What about San Cristobel? I'm their prince."_

"_San Cristobel is fine. Your brother took over after…"_

"_Edmund! Now I really have to get out of here." Richard says, sitting up._

"_No, you can't. You're still battling a staph infection. If you leave you'll certainly die Mr. Winslow."_

_Richard feels a cold sweat pop out across his forehead, settling back against the pillow he closes his eyes. Rebeca checks, but he has only fallen asleep. Walking out of his room, she finds the nurses and doctor's standing outside his room. "Is he okay?" One of the nurses asks._

"_He's fine, he's asleep." Rebeca replies. Walking over to the nurse's station, she picks up the phone and pushes a couple of numbers after a couple rings, Noah picks up the phone._

"_Noah Chase." He says, absently looking over a patient's chart._

"_Colonel Chase, this is Dr. Whitley. I need to see you immediately."_

"_Is he alright?" Noah asks._

"_Yes, he's quite well." She replies, looking over her shoulder at Richard's room._

"_I'll be right down." Noah says, hanging up before she could reply._

_She goes to stand outside Richard's window, smiling for the first time in several months. Ten minutes later, Noah walks up to her at the nurse's station._

"_What's happening?" Noah asks._

"_Go look for yourself." She replies, nodding towards Richard's window. _

_Noah walks over and stares at his best friend, sitting up in bed and wide awake. "He's awake, he's…" Noah starts go inside, but Dr. Whitley stops him. _

"_If you want to see him, you have to put the protective gear on. He's still fighting the infection."_

_Grabbing the gear, Noah pulls it on quickly before he opens the door to Richard's room. Looking up, he stares at his best friend and then he smiles broadly. "Noah."_

"_Richard, you're awake." Noah says, looking at him still amazed._

"_Yes, so they tell me."  
"I can't believe you're awake." Noah says. "How do you feel?"_

"_Like I got run over by a truck." Richard replies. "Noah, where's Cassie."_

"_Cassie, you remember Cassie."_

"_Of course I remember Cassie, she's my wife. And what about San Cristobel? Who's looking after it? My doctor said that my brother took over, but I can't imagine that the people allowed Edmund to take the country back after what happened." _

"_No, Edmund didn't take the country back. Your brother William is prince now."_

"_William, who's William?"_

"_William is your half brother and he's Prince of San Cristobel now." Noah replies, pulling a chair over to the side of the bed and sitting down._

"_He's prince, but I'm Prince of San Cristobel. I've always been Prince of San Cristobel." _

"_Not anymore." _

"_Why not?" _

"_It's complicated to explain buddy." _

"_It can't be that complicated. I'm Prince. I've always been Prince of San Cristobel."_

"_I'll try to explain it to you." Noah says, realizing that he was getting upset. "About a couple years before your accident you found a note that your mother had written around the time you were born, explaining that her son had died in childbirth and was buried in the informal garden of the palace. To provide an heir and stability to the country, Prince George brought you to the palace to be his heir in place of the son he had lost. _

_You were in fact the son of a woman he had been having an affair with while he was married to Princess Charlotte. When you found that out, you had DNA tests run and you found out that you were not Princess Charlotte's son, but your father's illegitimate child. You and Cassie decided to announce to the country that you were not the true Prince of San Cristobel and the Edmund was the rightful heir to the throne."_

"_No, I wouldn't do that. Edmund's not fit to rule."_

"_You also announced that you felt that it was in the countries best interest to dissolve the monarchy in place of allowing Edmund to rule."_

"_Well, at least I had enough sense to do that. So, how did my half brother William become prince, if he died in childbirth?"_

"_That's the thing, he didn't die. Prince George had him removed from the palace and he told Charlotte that he had died. Alonzo or William was given to a couple on the other side of the island to raise."_

"_So, how did he become Prince?"_

"_After you announced that you were not the Prince of San Cristobel and suggested that the country dissolve the monarchy, Edmund took control of the country after he supposedly uncovered a plot to rig the election in his favor and he declared martial law."_

"_A non-violent coup, not exactly Edmund's style but it got him what he wanted."_

"_Yes, well he had you and Cassie hunted across the island, until you tried to escape. Edmund intercepted you and Cassie was captured."_

"_Edmund has Cassie." Richard says, starting to sit up again._

"_No, Edmund is in prison, but he held her prisoner for several months after her capture. We finally went down to San Cristobel and freed her and the island through our own military coup but Edmund escaped and he made it back to Springfield._

"_Springfield that's were Cassie is from."_

"_Yes, anyway you had control of the country and they decided to dissolve the monarchy and try democracy. There was a Presidential election, which you won by the way."_

"_So, I was President of San Cristobel." Richard says in amazement._

"_For a while, until Camille came along."_

"_Camille?"_

"_While you were being hunted by Edmund, Cassie tried to escape from the palace. Edmund chased her and there was an accident. Cassie was pregnant at the time and the accident forced her into premature labor and the baby was delivered stillborn."_

"_Oh god!"_

"_I'm sorry. You and Cassie were devastated. But after the coup and the election Dax brought Camille to the palace and she had a child about the same age as your son would have been. She was desperate to get back to the states. She'd married a merchant marine on a lark and a week later he shipped out for a year at sea and she hadn't heard from him since. _

_She claimed she couldn't go home with a baby. Her parents would never accept him so she begged you and Cassie to adopt him. At first Cassie refused, but then she changed her mind. The morning you were going to christen Will, your brother showed up at the palace. He was Will's biological father."_

"_We adopted my brother's son."_

"_Yes, Dax arranged it that way."_

"_Dax?"_

"_He was your right hand man, and he didn't want to give the monarchy up. He arranged for Camille to come to the palace. He arranged for Camille to leave the baby alone in the informal garden and for Cassie to find it after you brought up the option for adoption and she refused to accept it. _

_And then he arranged for William to come to the palace, hoping that he would stop the christening, but he didn't. He allowed you and Cassie to adopt Will and to raise him. In return, Cassie convinced you to ask him to stay on and help you with the harbor project. To make an even longer story short, Camille and Dax forced William to declare his right to the throne, if he didn't Camille threatened to take you to court for custody of Will. Cassie has a bit of a past before she met you."  
"I remember Noah." Richard replies, remembering the pictures of Cassie dancing that Edmund had put in the documentary before they were married._

"_Anyway, she said if William didn't accept his claim to the throne, she would take you and Cassie to court and sue for custody of Will. You put it to the people and allowed them to vote, and they unanimously voted to reinstate the monarchy with William as Prince."_

"_What happened after that?"_

"_You and Cassie left San Cristobel and you moved to Springfield. That's were your accident happened." Noah says, as Dr. Whitley walks in._

"_I know you two have a lot to catch up on, but he needs to rest." She says._

"_Okay." Noah says, standing up._

"_I'll be back to check on you later." Dr. Whitley says to Richard before they walk out of his room. Nodding, Richard lays back and closes his eyes._

_When the door closes behind them, Noah turns to Dr. Whitley "He seems normal."_

"_So far all of his tests show that he's going to make a complete recovery. Even his temperature has started to fall." _

"_So, he's going to be able to walk."_

"_Everything seems to be working again. He's very weak from being in the bed for so long, but with therapy he should be able to walk again. He keeps asking about Cassie."_

"_I know. That's what we were talking about. I know how to get in touch with her."_

"_You know if she had been here before, he might have come out of the coma a lot sooner."_

"_Yes, but we had to keep him being a live a secret until we found the woman responsible for his accident, not only to protect him but Cassie as well."_

"_Well, he needs to see her." _

"_I'll take care of it. Are you sure he's completely out of the coma?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Alright, I'll contact Cassie and I'll get her here as soon as possible."_

"_Good, I think it will do him a whole lot of good." _

_Noah nods, walking towards the elevator. "We'll be in touch." Noah says, pulling out his cell phone._

"_Okay." _

_As the elevator closes, Noah dials Jeffrey's cell phone number. After a couple rings, he picks up. "Hello, Jeffrey O'Neill."_

"_Jeffrey, its Noah."_

"_Has something happened?" _

"_Yes, he's awake.' _

"_Awake, you mean awake, awake. Like conscious."_

"_Yes, completely and totally awake and he's asking for Cassie."_

"_Cassie, I thought you said it could be a while before he remembered anything."_

"_It's different with every patient and he was a bit confused about being Prince, but he remembered Cassie right away and has been asking for her."_

"_I'll call her. Wow, I didn't think he would wake up, at least not this soon, especially with the infection."_

"_Yes well we weren't expecting him to wake up either. But Dr. Whitley said it could happen at anytime."_

"_How is the infection?"_

"_He's still fighting it, but he seems to be doing a lot better."_

"_Are they sure he's going to recover? That he's not going to slip back into the coma?"_

"_Yes, all his tests are indicating that he's going to be fine." _

"_Then I'll call William and Cassie and tell them that Richard's awake. I'm assuming that once I tell her that she's going to be free to come and see him."_

"_Yes, in fact I think he'll insist that she come." _

"_Good, because I don't want to tell her he's awake and then tell her that she can't see him. I don't think she'll listen anyway."_

"_You're right, she wouldn't."_

"_Let me talk to William and Cassie, and I'll get back in touch with you." They hang up as Jeffrey head's towards the Beacon._

8.13


	9. A Fresh Start Chapter 9

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Nine_

_ Jeffrey pulls into his parking place. And as he parks, he scans the parking lot for Olivia's car. It is parked in its usual place. "Great." He thought as he got of the car. "Maybe I can get through the lobby without running into her." _

_No such luck the minute he walks through the door he hears her calling his name. "Jeffrey."_

_Stopping he turns and waits as she walks across the lobby, he can tell that she is angry, just in the way she carries herself. "Yes, Olivia." He says, as she stops in front of him._

"_What was this afternoon about?"_

"_I'm sorry." He replies, trying to pretend like he didn't know what she is talking about._

"_This afternoon, the meeting at City Hall, I scheduled a meeting with you and I go one of your flunkies. If I wanted that, why waste my time scheduling the meeting in the first place."_

"_That's a good question Olivia. We both know that you didn't schedule that meeting to discuss the rezoning of the land around the Beacon. One of my 'flunkies' as you say can handle that. As my assistant probably told you, I had some personal business to take care of."_

"_What personal business?"_

"_It's none of your business Olivia. That's why it's called personal business. It's personal."_

"_Does this business have anything to do with Cassie?"_

"_Again, that's none of your business, now I need to go." Jeffrey says, turning towards the stairs. He half expected Olivia to follow him, when she didn't he is more than relieved. When he reaches his room and closes the door behind him, he breathes a sigh of relief. "She's acting like we dated for months." He thought as he walks across the room to the phone on his desk. Picking it up he dials the number to the palace, after a couple rings someone comes on the line._

"_Yes, hello." A lady answers the call._

"_Yes, this is Jeffrey O'Neill I need to speak with his Highness please."_

"_I'm sorry Prince William is out of the office taking care of some personal business in another part of the palace. Could I take a message, Mr. O'Neill?" Jodi asks._

"_Yes, could you tell him to call me it's very important?"_

"_Yes Sir, I'll be sure to tell him the moment he returns."_

"_Do you have any idea when that will be?" Jeffrey asks, sitting down at the desk_

"_It shouldn't be more than an hour. He's questioning a prisoner." _

"_Okay, thank you." Jeffrey said, hanging up a couple seconds later. He then dials the number to Cassie's villa. It rang a couple times before Ms Chitwood answers the phone._

"_Hello, Winslow residence." Jeffrey recognized Mrs. Chitwood's voice immediately._

"_Ms. Chitwood, its Jeffrey O'Neill. Is Cassie home?'_

"_No, she's not. She went out to dinner with a couple of her and Mr. Winslow's friends."_

"_Did she say when she would be back?"_

"_I'm sorry Sir, but no. She's been busy with the boys and the children's museum. I convinced her to take a break and go out for a change."_

"_I'll call back later. If she comes home…"_

"_I'll tell her you called. Mr. O'Neill." _

"_Thank you." Jeffrey says, smiling as he hangs up the phone. He had always liked her. _

_ Rebeca stays at the hospital for a couple more hours after Noah left before she leaves for the day with instructions to page her if there are any changes in Richard's condition. Not that she expected any. Now that he was awake, he seemed to be growing stronger by the minute. His temperature was back down to normal the last time she check it which was a very good sign. _

_He was still too weak to get out of bed, but with a few days of solid food he would regain some of his strength back. Right now, she had him on lots of liquids. But she suspected within the next few weeks if not days, he'd be on strictly solid foods. It amazed her every time how quickly a human body could recoup after a major injury. _

_She had seen patients that were near the brink of death pull through and live another day and she had seen patients that were not seriously hurt die from the lack of will to live. And when a patient survived it always made her feel like she was doing her part to carry her mother's spirit on. It still made her angry to think about all the months that were wasted because they refused to accept what was happening to her mother, believing that in prayer, her mother would be healed. Prayer was important when someone was ill, she doesn't deny that but it isn't the only solution and definitely not the only treatment available._

_This was the first evening in a long time that she was actually going to spend the evening at home, most times she didn't get home till well past midnight, if she came home at all and she was usually gone again by five am when she did come home. Walking into her apartment, she tosses her keys on the table by her purse as she kicks her tennis shoes off, rubbing her feet on the carpet as she walks through to the kitchen. _

_Opening the cabinets she quickly realized that if she was going to eat she was either going have to go to the store or call for take out. She didn't want to leave the house again, so she pulls her phone from her purse, scrolled through her contacts and calls her favorite pizza place, ordering a large thin crust pizza as she walks into her bedroom. About twenty minutes later, the door bell buzzed. _

_Getting up, she pulls a twenty from her wallet and opens the door to the pizza boy. Giving him the twenty and telling him to keep change as she takes the pizza and closes the door. Putting the box, on the coffee table, she walks into the kitchen, grabs the parmesan cheese and then goes back to the living room, opening the box as she reaches for the remote._

_Turning the TV on as she sprinkles the cheese on her pizza and flips through the channels, by passing the kids shows, and the news channels it was too good a day to be brought down by current events as much as she liked to stay update on what was going on she didn't feel like listening to the rhetoric about the coming campaign year. She finally settled for a movie on Lifetime and sit back to eat dinner._

_ Jeffrey hasn't been home long when someone knocks on his door, peeking through the peephole he realized it is Ava and from the look on her face, she isn't happy. Opening the door quickly, he is about to ask what was wrong when she runs into his arms crying. He holds her for a few minutes before he is able to get her to let him go long enough to close the door. Walking over to the couch, she sits down while Jeffrey closes the door and follows her over. "So, what happened?" He asks_

_ "Mike and I broke up." Ava says, reaching up to wipe away a tear._

_ "Why, you just got together?"_

_ "I did something while I was in San Cristobel."_

_ "Does this have to do with whatever was going on with you and William?"_

_ "You knew about that?" Ava asks, surprised._

_ "I guessed; you want to tell me what happened."_

_ "Do I need too? Let's just say that William and I became closer than friends last weekend. I wasn't going to say anything to Mike but then I changed my mind. So when he came to get me from Spaulding this afternoon for lunch I told him what happened. He was furious. I didn't think he would get that mad, especially since I was coming out and telling him and like you said, we just got together. But he was really mad. He said some really nasty stuff."_

_ "Like what?" _

_ "That doesn't really matter, but he said that he never wanted to see me again. Said I was just like my mother. I didn't even know he knew Olivia."_

_ "They dated a couple years ago, but from what I remember it didn't last very long and she dumped him. It was right after Emma was born and she was trying to deal with Phillip and the Spaulding's."_

_ "Well, he's definitely furious now." _

_ "Did you really want a relationship with him?" _

_ "Of course, I did." Ava replies looking at Jeffrey shocked._

_ "The reason I ask, is because I have to wonder with what happened with William."_

_ "William's fun, and he's charming and I like him, but…"_

_ "You don't know if you could love him."_

_ "Well, yeah. He's a prince. He runs a country. I don't know if I'm cut out for that." _

_ "Aren't you putting the cart before the horse a little bit? You guys aren't even dating. You had one weekend together."_

_ "One very good weekend together." _

_ "I don't want to know the details, but still you're not together as a couple."_

_ "So, you're saying I shouldn't've told Mike about it."_

_ "No, I think that took guts." Jeffrey says, as his phone rings. Getting up, he goes to answer it. "Hello, Jeffrey O'Neill." He says._

_ "Jeffrey, its William."_

_ "Oh yes, thanks for calling me back, can you hang on a minute?" "Sure." _

_ Taking the phone away from his ear he turns to Ava "I need to take this call._

_ "Sure." Ava says, standing up._

_ "Are you okay?" _

_ "Yes."._

_ "I've got William on the other line, do you want…"_

_ "No, there's no need to tell him. I'll talk to you later." _

_ "Okay." Ava leaves and Jeffrey returns to the phone call. "William, are you still there?"_

_ "Yes, I'm here. Jodi said you needed to speak to me."_

_ "Yes, I got a call from Washington earlier this evening."_

_ "Is he alright?"_

_ "He's fine, in fact he's awake."_

_ "Awake, you mean like…"_

_ "He's out of the coma. He woke up sometime this afternoon Noah said."_

_ "Oh my god! He's awake. Have you told Cassie?"_

_ "No, I called the villa but she wasn't in. I left a message with Ms. Chitwood for her to call me."_

_ "I'll see if I can track her down. What did his doctor say?"_

_ "He woke up sometime his afternoon and that all the tests seem to indicate that he's out of the coma for good."_

_ "What about the infection?"_

_ "He's still recovering from that, but Noah did say that his temperature was almost back to normal."_

_ "So they think he'll make a full recovery."_

_ "Yes, he's weak right now from being in the bed for so long, but he should be up and about in a few months, according to Noah."_

_ "I can't wait till Cassie."_

_ "Noah said that he's asking for her." _

_ "Then we need to find her immediately."_

_ "Ms. Chitwood said she was out with a couple of friends of her and Richard's, but she didn't say when she would be in.'_

_ "She's probably down at Pierre's or the Rusty Anchor."_

_ "The Rusty Anchor! She can't go in there."_

_ "They've cleaned the place up since you were in there last." William replies. "Let me go see if I can track her down, and we'll be on the royal jet to Washington."_

_ "Call me when you find her. I need to call Washington and get both of you clearance to come." Jeffrey says._

_ "Of course. I'll let you know as soon as I find her."_

_ "Thank you." _

_ They hang up a few seconds later, with William calling the villa and finding out that Cassie had just walked in the door. A couple seconds later, Cassie came on the line._

_ "Alo… William. What's going on?" She asks. "Ms. Chitwood said it was an emergency. Has something happened to Will?"_

_ "No, Will's fine." William replies. "Jeffrey called however."_

_ "Okay, how is he?"_

_ "He's fine. Are you going to be home?"  
"Yes."  
"I'm going to come over there. I need to tell you this in person."_

_ "In person!" _

_ "Yes, in person. I'll be there in a few minutes." _

_ About five minutes later, there is a knock at Cassie's door. Opening it, she lets him in and then closes the door behind him before walking into the living room. "What's going on?" _

_ "First, I think you need to sit down."_

_ "No, just tell me." Cassie says, clearly thinking she is going to hear the worst._

_ "He's awake, Cassie." _

_ "Richard, Richard's awake. I have to go." She says, turning to go upstairs._

_ "Wait we have to get clearance from Jeffrey first."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "He's still at the agency hospital. They have to approve us coming."_

_ "How long is that going to take?"_

_ "I don't know."  
"I thought he was fighting an infection of some kind. How can this happen? Jeffrey seemed to think it might be weeks before we would be able to see him."_

_ "I don't know all the details. All Jeffrey said, was that Noah called him this afternoon and told him that he was awake. As to the infection, he's still fighting it, but his temperature is closer to normal."_

_ "So, they're sure that he's going to be okay?"_

_ "He's weak from lying in the bed for so long, but the tests are all showing that he's getting better."_

_ "Okay, call Jeffrey and see if he can get us clearance for tonight. I need to see him now." Cassie says, her tone impatient_

_ "Alright, I'll give him a call." William says, smiling while pulling his phone from his pocket. A few seconds later, Jeffrey phone rings. Reaching for it, he answers as he looks over some of the papers he had brought home from City hall. "Hello." _

_ "Jeffrey, its William. I found Cassie."_

_ "Did you tell her?"_

_ "Yes, I told her. She wants to know if we can have clearance to see him tomorrow."_

_ "I spoke with Noah after I got off the phone with you, and that's fine."_

_ "Good. We'll be there. Are you coming down?"_

_ "Yes, but I can't stay long." _

_ "I think you need to be there too. I'll call the pilot and we'll be on our way within the hour."_

_ "Okay." _

_ "We'll see you soon." They hang up as William turns to Cassie. _

"_We're cleared?" _

_ "Yes, for tomorrow morning. So go get packed while I call the palace and have them call the pilot and we'll..." He didn't even get to finish Cassie was already upstairs. A few minutes later, she is back downstairs with her suitcase in her hand._

_ "Are you ready?" _

_ "Yes. What about RJ?"_

"_I explain things to Ms. Chitwood."_

"_Okay, come on. I have to stop at the palace to get some stuff and then we'll be on our way." William says, following Cassie through the house and out to his car. _

_ They stop for a couple minutes at the palace to get William's suitcase and some papers from his office before they are on their way to the private airstrip and the royal jet. Ten minutes later, they are in the air and on their way to Washington DC._

_ After hanging up with William, Jeffrey calls City Hall and leaves a message for Stacey that he would be out of the office for the rest of the week. And then grabbing an overnight bag, he threw some clothes inside and heads for the airport. He is about to leave the lobby when he runs into Olivia. "Where are you going this late?" _

_ "It's none of your business Olivia." Jeffrey barks. "When are you going to get it threw your head, we are not together. I don't answer to you." He says, before he steps around her and walks out of the Beacon. Catching the redeye, Jeffrey lands in Washington around three am. Checking into the hotel that he and Ava stayed in the weekend before, he finally crashes_

_ He woke the next morning to his cell phone ringing. Pulling it from his pants pocket, he pushes talk while he tries to wake up. "Hello." He says sleepily._

_ "Jeffrey, its Cassie."_

_ "Hello." He says, sounding a little more awake._

_ "I was wondering if we could go to the agency now."_

_ "What time is it?'_

_ "It's just after eight."_

_ "Let me get a shower and I'll call the agency." Jeffrey says, sitting up "I'll call you back in thirty minutes."_

_ "Okay."_

_ After putting on a pot of coffee, Jeffrey jumps into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he is out, dressed and on the phone to Noah. _

"_Noah Chase."_

_ "Noah, its Jeffrey. Cassie just called. She wants to know if we can come to see him."_

_ "I don't see why not? Dr. Whitley is in with him now, but by the time you get here she should be finished."_

_ "Alright, let me call Cassie and William and we'll be on our way."_

_ "I'll let Dr. Whitley know."_

_ "Thanks." Jeffrey replies. Hanging up he calls Cassie as he was pouring himself a cup of coffee. When William answers Jeffrey tells him "We can go as soon as your both ready."_

_ "Cassie went downstairs. She should be back any minute."_

_ "Okay, I'm on my way to the embassy." _

_ "We can meet you at the agency."_

_ "No, I have to be with you or the guards won't let you on the property."_

_ "I'll tell Cassie you're on your way."_

_ "Okay." Jeffrey replies flipping off the coffee pot as he grabs his room key as he walks out of the room, hailing a cab when he reaches the street. "The embassy for San Cristobel." Jeffrey says, as he close the car door behind him. Twenty minutes later, William and Cassie are waiting when Jeffrey walks in to the embassy._

_ "Jeffrey." Cassie calls, standing up._

_ "Are you ready?" _

_ "Yeah, I'm a little nervous though."_

_ "You'll be fine." Jeffrey says, putting and arm around her and giving her a quick squeeze before he turns to William. Holding out his hand, Jeffrey shakes it before they turn to leave._

_ Noah is waiting in the lobby of the agency when Jeffrey, Cassie and William arrive, shaking Jeffrey and William's hand he gives Cassie a hug. "It's been along time." _

_ "I know. How are you feeling?"_

_ "Nervous, I can't believe he's alive, that he's been alive all this time."_

_ "I know, if we could have told you that he was alive we would have, but we had to protect him and you, until we caught Camille."_

_ "I can't believe she tried to kill him."_

_ "It wasn't about Richard, she wanted to get back at you and what better way than to take him away from you."_

_ "Has he said anything?"_

_ "He's been asking for you since he woke up."_

_ "Is that normal? I mean he's been in a coma for a long time."_

_ "It's normal, patients react differently to coma's some wake up and they don't remember anything, some remember everything."_

_ "How much did he remember?"_

_ "He remember you. He was a little confused about San Cristobel."_

_ "How do you mean?"_

_ "He thought he was still the prince." Noah says, looking over at William. "But I explained everything to him, at least that much. We don't want to over whelm him, but if he asks questions we need to answer them."_

_ "Does he know about Tammy or Jonathan?"_

_ "No, I didn't tell him that. We'll tell him when the time is right."_

_ As they are talking, Noah is leading him through the lobby to the elevators._

_ "What did the doctor say about the infection?" William asks._

_ "Actually, his fever broke last evening and he's doing better. They still have him on strong antibiotics to make sure they killed the staph, but we're no longer in danger of contracting the infection if we see him."_

_ "How is, he doing, physically I mean." Cassie asks as they step onto the elevator._

_ "He's very weak right now. They have him on plenty of liquids, but right now he can't get out of bed."_

_ "Is that normal?" _

_ "Yes, he's been in a coma for five years, and although the nurse came in and moved him and gave him physical therapy, what they could, his muscles are weak and it's going to take some time to get his strength back."_

_ "But he will get it back?" Cassie asks_

_ "Yes, he'll get it back with time and more therapy. He's going to be in here for a several more weeks before he can be released." Noah replies, as the doors open and they walk into a brightly lit hospital floor. The hospital resembles an ICU ward with one central nurse's station and several rooms off to the side around the room. _

_ Richard's room is at the far end of the ward, and Rebeca is just walking out of his room when Noah, Jeffrey, Cassie, and William walk up._

_ "Dr. Whitley, there are some people here I would like you to meet." Noah says as Sam walks over to him. "This is Richard's wife, Cassie Winslow, his brother William Winslow and their good friend Jeffrey O'Neill."_

_ That name caught her attention but she tries to hide her surprise as she looks up and realizes she is looking into Richard's face. "It had to be a coincidence that they had the same name." She thought as she sticks out her hand and shakes everyone's hand, lingering with Jeffrey. "Hi." She says softly "I'm Dr. Samantha Whitley." She says. "But you can call me Sam." There was something familiar about her touch when Jeffrey shook her hand but he didn't commit on it._

_ "You're Richard's doctor." Cassie says, drawing Sam's attention away from Jeffrey._

_ "Yes." She says_

_ "How is he doing?"_

_ "He's getting stronger but he still has a long way to go."_

_ "Noah said he's fever broke last night." William says._

_ "Yes, around six. We're still giving him antibiotics to make sure we kill all the staph but the worst of it is over." Sam replies, trying to concentrate on Cassie and William._

_ "Can I see him?" Cassie asks._

_ "You can, in a few minutes. The nurse is giving him a bath right now." Sam replies, and then notices Cassie's expression. "He's not paralyzed. His muscles are very weak and for a while he'll need help but eventually he'll be able to take care of himself and will be totally independent." Sam says, as the nurse walks out of Richard's room._

_ "He's ready." She tells Sam as she walks by, noticing Cassie, William and Jeffrey. She took a double take when she sees Jeffrey. _

_ "You can go in and see him." Sam says, taking Cassie's hand and leading her over to the door._

_ "Cassie, do you want us to go with you?" William asks._

_ She shakes her head no, as she takes deep breath and opens the door. Richard is lying on his back, with his head turned away from the door and his eyes closed. When the door opens he turns his head but doesn't quite believe what he sees. "Cassie." He says softly, reaching to push the button to bring his bed up._

_ "Yes." She says just as softly, walking over to the bed. She has tears in her eyes as he reaches for her._

_ Sitting down on the bed, she wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and then she realizing that she might be hurting him, so she starts to let him go._

_ "No!" He says, holding her tightly for several minutes. "You're here, you're really here." _

_ "Yes. I thought you were dead. If I had known you weren't I would have been here everyday."_

_ "I know. I missed you so much." Richard says. "Even when I was in the coma, I knew you weren't with me. I missed your touch, your voice."_

_ "I missed you, everyday I missed you." Cassie says, leaning back and looking at him, trying to memorize his face._

"_It's me and I am alive." He says, as he reaches up, his hand shaking a little bit as he reaches out and touches her cheek._

_ "Are the kids with you?"_

_ "No, I left them in San Cristobel." _

_ "San Cristobel, did you move back?"_

_ "No, we're down there on vacation. Will's living with William now."_

_ "He is. I thought he was going to let him stay with you."_

_ "He did until last summer and then his advisors wanted him to bring him back so he can start learning his duties. I can't believe you're here, you're alive. Richard a part of me died when they told me Reva had turned off your life support. I wasn't there that day to say good-bye. I didn't get to hold you, or tell you I loved you. I was so sure that you would get better and that you would come home to me and the kids and then they told me that Reva had turned off your life support at your request. I now realize it wasn't you, but then it nearly killed me. Everyday I missed you. I didn't realize how much until just here in the last few months." Cassie says, reaching up and wiping away a tear._

_ "What do you mean?" Richard asks, holding her hand and drinking in her beauty. "Even when she's crying she's beautiful." He thought._

_ "There has been so much that has happened over the last few years since you were gone. Choices I've made and things that I've done, but we won't get into that right now. I'm just so happy that you're alive. My world is right again."_

_ Richard starts to press her about what she said, but the door opens and William sticks his head in. "Can we come in?" He asks._

_ "Yes, come on in." Cassie says, getting up "I forgot you guys were out there." She says, as Jeffrey and William walk into the room._

_ "Alonzo." Richard says, holding out his hand. William takes it quickly noticing the trembling in his arm. Shaking it, he looks down at his brother. "I'm so sorry Richard, if I had known what she'd done…"_

"_Camille; it's not your fault. None of us could have guess she'd come after Cassie and me like that. I don't blame you." _

"_I just keep thinking about the fact that I let her stay at the palace this summer to try and let her build a relationship with Will. I knew that she could be manipulative and conniving but I had no idea that she would come after you. If I had known I would have locked her up instead of banishing her back to Iowa."_

"_It's not your fault Alonzo."_

"_Richard, he goes by William now." Cassie says._

"_Oh, I'm sorry I'm used to calling you Alonzo."_

"_No, it's okay."_

"_When did you start using your real name?" Richard asks._

"_When Will came back to the island. I thought it was the appropriate time."_

_Jeffrey is standing just inside the door, behind William and Cassie. When Richard notices him he holds out his hand and says. "Jeffrey."_

_ "Richard." Jeffrey said, walking over to the bed and shaking his hand._

_ Cassie is surprised that Richard remembers him. Jeffrey's time was only for the last year they were in San Cristobel. They talk for several minutes before William and Jeffrey leaves the room, to give Cassie and Richard some more time together._

9.11


	10. A Fresh Start Chapter 10

_A Fresh Start_

_Chapter Ten_

_After Cassie went into Richard's room, Sam turns to William and Jeffrey and they begin to talk. As soon as Jeffrey spoke she knew that it was him. He didn't seem to realize who she was, but she felt his eyes on her the entire time she was talking to William. When they finally go into Richard's room, she goes to her office. Sitting down at her desk, she lays her head back and closes her eyes. Her heart is still pounding from shaking Jeffrey's hand and being that close to him, talking to him. The moment their hands had touched she knew it was him and talking to him only confirmed it and she had no idea what to do about it. It was a good possibility that he would be around a lot as long as Richard was there. "How am I going to handle this?" She says out loud._

_ "Handle what?" Jeffrey asks, from her door way. Sitting up quickly, she stares at the man that she knew, but yet she didn't. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Earlier, I got the impression that we know each other, but I can't put my finger on how." Jeffrey says, walking into her office without an invitation._

_ She nervously watches him walk over to her. "No, no, I don't think we've met before." Sam stutters. "I didn't come here until about twelve years ago after Med School. Unless you've been injured in the field, I don't think we've ever met." Sam says, picking up a pencil and nervously twirling it between her fingers. "Was there something you needed?" she asks, refusing to look him in the eye. She is sure that if she did, he would be able to see who she was. Jeffrey could always read her by looking in her eyes._

_ "No, we're letting Cassie and Richard get reacquainted. How did you get assigned to his case?" He replies, sitting down in the chair across from her, stretching his out legs and crossing them at the ankles, reminding her of the many times she had caught him sitting like that while they lived together._

_ "I'm the best internal medicine doctor the agency has, the Director asked for me to personally handle Richard's case. There really wasn't much I could do for him, except to make sure that he was comfortable, and try to keep him from getting to many infections that would wear his system down too much."_

_ "How did he get the staph infection?"_

_ "It happens with patients that have been in the bed for long periods of time, we try to make sure that everything is handled properly, but sometimes no matter what precautions we use it still happens. I was really worried he wouldn't pull through this time. This was his second infection in as many months and his fever kept spiking, sometimes getting up to 103.7. We kept him as comfortable as we could, and waited for the antibiotics to kick in." She had no idea why she was telling him this, except that when she got nervous she tended to talk a lot, and she wondered if he would remember that._

_ As if he read her mind, he said. "You know, there is something about you that makes me swear that we know each other." _

_ "I'm sorry, but unless you were brought here for treatment, I've never been out in the field."_

_ "How did you know I had been in the field? The agency has plenty of agents that work behind the scenes."_

_ "You just have the look of a field agent." She says quickly, trying to cover her blunder._

_ "Field agents have a look now." Jeffrey replies, teasing her_

_ "No, that's not what I meant. You just have that edge about you that field agents have."_

_ "Edge." Jeffrey says, sitting back and watching her. "You have the most fascinating eyes. They look like…" Before he could finish, Noah knocks on Sam's office door. Releasing a sigh of relief, she calls "Come in."_

_ "Dr. Whitley, I'm sorry to interrupt. Jeffrey, William would like to talk to the Director about the Camille situation and he would like you to be there." Noah says after he opens Sam's office door._

_ "Okay." Jeffrey says, standing up. "It was a pleasure talking to you Dr. Whitley." He says, turning back to her._

_ "It was my pleasure." Sam replies, hoping that he couldn't tell exactly how much he unnerved her. Stepping back, Noah lets Jeffrey leave the office before he closes the door. _

_Looking over at Jeffrey he asks. "Is there something going on?"_

_ "No, of course not." Jeffrey replies, sounding rather defensive to his own ears._

_ "You seem quite interested in Dr. Whitley. Do you two know each other?"_

_ "No, not that I know of, but there's something about her. I would almost swear that I do know her." Jeffrey says, as they walk down the hall to Noah's office. Being one of the best oncologists in the world, Noah spent some of his time at the hospital since he had retuned to active duty._

_ "She says that she's only been in the agency for around twelve years." Jeffrey says._

_ "I don't know when she came in, but she was here when I declared myself reactive. She's a very brilliant doctor, the best internal medicine doctor the agency has. That's why the Director asked her to personally take Richard's case."_

_ "That's what she said. It's not that. There's something else." Jeffrey says, as they walk through the ward of patients rooms._

_ "Like what, has she treated you before?"_

_ "No, I've never been treated here and she says she's never been in the field. No it's something else. It's almost like…"_

_ "Like what?"_

_ "It's like I've looked into her eyes… It is her eyes." Jeffrey says, stopping just outside a patient's room. "I've seen them before, I've looked into them before."_

_ "Maybe you saw a picture of her somewhere." Jeffrey looks over at him. "Okay, maybe you didn't, but her eyes?"_

_ "I know it sounds strange, but I can't shake this feeling that I've looked into them before." Jeffrey says, starting to walk again. "They remind you of a…" Jeffrey stops again. He'd gone pale, as white as the sheets on Richard's bed._

_ "Are you okay?" Noah asks, noticing Jeffrey's expression along with his complexion._

_ "It's her. The eyes, they remind you of a cat. It's her. But how, she's dead. She'd been dead for more than twelve years." Jeffrey says, turning around and heading back the way they had just come._

_ "Where are you going? The Director…"_

_ "Tell William, I'm sorry. Something's come up. He can fill me in when I get back." Jeffrey says, over his shoulder._

_ "Jeffrey." Noah calls, but he ignores him. Now that he realized who she is he has to find her again. _

_ When he reaches her office, he doesn't stop to knock but just opens the door. She isn't there; walking back out into the hall he stops one of the nurses. "Dr. Whitley, where is she?"_

_ "She went home for the day."_

_ "Where!"_

_ "Where Sir?"_

_ "Yes, where does she live?"_

_ "I'm not sure, Sir."_

_ "Does anyone know?"_

_ "Dr. Frost might." The nurse replies, nodding to the office two doors down from Dr. Whitley's._

_ "Thank you." Jeffrey says, walking towards the office door. Knocking once, he opens the door without invitation. "Dr. Frost." Jeffrey asks, walking up to an older gentleman with gray hair and sharp blue eyes._

_ "Yes, may I help you?" Dr. Frost asks. Looking up, he is shocked to see the man standing before him but Jeffrey doesn't take the time to explain._

_ "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was told that you might know where Dr. Whitley lives." Jeffrey says._

_ "Why do you want to know?"_

_ "We're old friends, went to school together and when I found out that she was in the agency I thought it would be fun to look her up, but she's left for the day, and I'm leaving tomorrow for an assignment overseas."_

_ "Of course, she lives in Reston. 393 Rt3 Apt 3d." The older man says, scribbling the address on a note pad._

_ "Thank you." Jeffrey says, taking the piece of paper and leaving the office. He is headed towards the elevators when he meets Cassie coming off them._

_ "Jeffrey, I thought you were in a meeting with William."_

_ "Something came up. Did you need something?" _

_ "No, I just went to get a soda from the machine." Cassie says, holding up the can in her hand. "Is everything okay?"_

_ "It's fine." He replies. "I've got to go. Tell William I'll catch up with him later." He says, getting on the elevator and pushing the button for the first floor._

_ "Okay." Cassie says, as the door closes._

_ When he reaches the street, he hails a cab. When one stops he opens the door and says, "I need you to go to 393 RT3 Reston."_

_ "That's nearly thirty miles away."_

_ "I don't care." Jeffrey replies, closing the door behind him._

_ "Yes sir." The driver says, pulling away from the curb._

_ When Jeffrey left her office, Sam immediately told the head nurse that she was leaving for the rest of the day, carefully avoiding running into Jeffrey and Noah as she left. For a few seconds there, before Noah walked in she had thought that Jeffrey had figured out who she was. _

_Walking into her apartment, she collapses on the couch and closes her eyes. She is still there an hour and half later when someone knocks on her door. She hasn't called anyone, no take out. So she has no idea who is on the other side of the door, but she is too worried, distracted or both to bother looking through the peephole before she answers the door. If she had she might not have answered. _

_ Pulling the door open, she is taken totally by surprise when someone pulls her into their arms and kisses her. At first she resists, but then her body recognizes who is holding her and she surrenders. Wrapping her arms around his neck she kisses him back. After several seconds Jeffrey breaks the kiss, taking a step back he looks down into her eyes and smiles. "I knew it was you." He says softly. She can't answer as she stares up at him. Over the years, there were times that she had fantasized about this day. Of him figuring out that she wasn't dead and coming to find her. But she didn't do it often and when she did afterwards she would always berate herself for wishing for something that just couldn't be. "How did you survive?"_

_ That one question brought her back to reality. Taking a step back, she looks him in the eye and says. "We can't do this."_

"_Why? I love you. I have always loved you."_

_ "You don't know me. You haven't known me for years." Sam says, walking back into her apartment with Jeffrey following behind her, closing the door._

_ "I'm still the man you knew." _

_ "Are you? It's been more than twelve years since we were together Jeffrey. I'm not the innocent green agent you took under your wing in London. And you look completely different. Why, by the way?"_

_ "That doesn't matter." Jeffrey says, knowing that she is trying to distract him. "You're still the woman that I loved. I felt it just now." Jeffrey says, stepping closer too her._

_ "No, we can't." She says, taking a step back_

_ "Why not?"_

_ "We just can't, too much time has passed. We're not the same people we were."_

_ "Yes we are Beca." Jeffrey says, taking another step._

_ "Don't call me that. She's dead. Rebeca Whitmere doesn't exist anymore. She died in an accident in St. Petersburg, Russia over twelve years ago." Sam says turning and running into her bedroom, slamming the door as Jeffrey goes after her._

_ Slowly opening the door, he finds her curled up in a ball on the bed, crying harder than he had ever seen her cry before. Sitting down beside her, he pulls her to him and at first she resists but he wouldn't let her go. "Shhh, darlin." He whispers, gently stroking her long auburn hair. He holds her for several minutes until she finally stops crying._

_ "I'm sorry." She says, detaching herself from him and moving to the other side of the bed. _

_There are several seconds of silence until Jeffrey reaches out and takes her left hand, playing with her ring finger while he asks. "Would you tell me what's wrong? Why are you scared?"_

_Closing her eyes, she is still amazed at how easily he is able to read her after all this time. "You always could tell when I was hiding."_

"_So, what are you hiding from now?"_

"_I have no idea." She replies, looking over at him._

"_Would you tell me what happened? Why did you leave? I don't believe you left because you were scared of what we had. I would have known." _

"_Maybe not, I could have…."_

"_Sam." He says, looking at as if to say, don't do that._

"_When I left you that morning and I arrived at the club Sasha met me at the door and told me that my cover was blown. She didn't tell me how, but that I couldn't come in because Victor was on to me. She gave me keys to a house and told me to go there and wait for her."_

"_Why didn't you come back to the apartment?"_

"_She said that Victor had people watching the place. I couldn't risk the operation or your life, so I went to the house and I waited for two days. And then she came, with a car similar to mine and a plan. She had a woman that was about the same height and weight I was. She was already dead. I don't know how it happened. She said that the only way I could keep you alive was to make you think I was dead. _

_So we staged the accident and then I left the country. For the next six months, I moved from place to place. I was terrified that Victor would find out that I wasn't dead and come after me. I finally made my way back home, back to Georgia. I saw my mom just days before she died. After that I left Georgia for good, and I went to Nashville, changed my name and my appearance and applied for Med School. I got in and the rest is history."_

"_How did you get back into the agency? And why didn't I ever hear about you being found."_

"_First, my name is different." Sam says, looking at him as if to say you should know that, which he smiled at. "And second, when I was found and I came back, I made the Director promise me complete anonymity."  
"Where did you get the name, and why red hair?'_

_ "Sam is short for Samantha, my grandfather used to call me that when I was about two. I kept the Ann, for Momma, but I changed the Whitmere to Whitley. The red hair, well I had played around with the color when I was in high school. My parents hated it, but I liked the way I looked with red hair and so I went back to it."_

"_So how did they find you?" _

"_An agent was brought into the Med Center when I was a resident. He recognized me and told his superiors. They sent agents down to verify who I was and again the rest is history. After I finished my residency, I moved to Washington and I was assigned to the hospital. I only agreed to come if they would guarantee that I wouldn't be put back in the field. I couldn't take the chance that you would see me or we'd run across each other."_

"_You had to know that the operation was over, why didn't you contact me then?"_

"_I couldn't take the chance, you know Pertrinkov, and he has people everywhere. I didn't know if he was still looking for me or if he had found out about us and would use you to get to me."_

"_But it's been over twelve years; Petrinkov died in a Russia prison. The Soviet Union is no more. I've been off of active duty for the last five years, you had to know that."_

"_Okay, so maybe part of the reason I didn't come to you is because I didn't know how you would react. And I was scared to face you." Sam says, getting up and walking over to the window "Maybe I thought you would believe what I had written in the note and I couldn't stand you turning your back on me."_

"_Sam, I never believe that note. But I wish you would have come back to the apartment."_

"_I was scared. I couldn't loose you, not permanently, which it would have been if Pertrinkov would have found us. We promised to protect each other, even if it meant sacrificing ourselves."_

"_Your cover was never blown. Sasha only told you that to get you away from Pertrinkov. She knew that he was interested in you and she wanted him for herself, so she decided to tell you that your cover was blown and force you to leave. The body we found was burned beyond recognition and she had pulled out all of the women's teeth so we had nothing to compare it to. The agency didn't know for sure whether it was you or not."_

"_So all of this was for nothing, so she could have him, she could have had him anyway. I had no interest in Pertrinkov, no interest." Sam says, shuddering slightly_

"_Why didn't you tell me he was harassing you?" _

"_And have you go after him, in jealous rage and blow the whole operation, no!" Sam says, shaking her head. "All this time I thought I was protecting you."_

"_She was a good actress, and she took a lot of pleasure in seeing me hurt. I think she wanted both of us."_

"_Well, I see your ego hasn't changed, even if your face has, a face which I like by the way." _

"_You always did like my ego." Jeffrey says, walking over to her._

"_Yes, I did. I can't believe you're here."_

"_You know, I've been having dreams about you lately." Jeffrey says, wrapping his arms loosely around her._

"_What kind of dreams?" _

"_I think you know." Jeffrey replies, pulling her closer to him._

"_Maybe I do and maybe I don't. You might be dreaming of all the ways you want to…"_

"_Yes, I have." Jeffrey replies in a sexy whisper, before he leans over and kisses her again. After several seconds, he leans back. "God, I have missed you." _

"_I missed you too. I ached for you so many times over the last twelve years."_

"_Was there anyone else?"_

"_No." Sam replies, shaking her head. "I couldn't get you out of my head. "What about you?"_

"_A few." _

"_Only a few, somehow I think there was more than that."_

"_Okay, so maybe there were, but most of them never replaced you."_

"_Most of them." She says, with one eyebrow arched._

"_Now, don't look at me that way. I'm a man."_

"_What's that got to do with it?" Sam asks, looking up at him._

"_Just that we operate different than women, but…" He continues, even though he knew she wanted to say something. "But you; are the only one that I gave my complete heart to, no one else." Jeffrey says. And when he said it like that, she couldn't stay mad at him._

"_Okay, so men are different." Sam says. "How did you get to look like Richard?"_

"_It was consequences of one of those involvements I was talking about. The ladies husband didn't like that we were rather close and he ordered my brakes to be tampered with causing a severe accident, severe enough to warrant a complete reconstruction of my face. This all happened about the time that Richard started getting death threats and he needed a double. So, I became him in certain situations."_

"_How long were you Richard?"_

"_About a year, the last year that he and Cassie were on the island and he was President, that experience and the months afterwards completely changed my life."_

"_When you were in Europe with the fake Princess Cassie."_

"_You know about that?"_

"_Yes, most of the agency knows about that." Sam says. "You used the agencies power to get the woman responsible for Cassie's former fiancé's death, out of a European prison, on the pretense that it was an official investigation. You then turn her into a fake Princess Cassie and you both were seen across Europe together, until about three months after Richard's accident, then you dropped her and you come back to the states, but you didn't go directly to Cassie. You went to New York first."_

"_I was forced to go to New York."_

"_You did that yourself. What did you think would happen?"_

"_I… it doesn't matter."_

"_So, you went to New York and you built your reputation on being one of the least compromising and most effective DA's that city has ever seen, then and since. Then Salerno started selling drugs in Springfield, and the agency was asked to investigate. We found out that the main ingredients for the drugs were coming from San Cristobel, so you were brought back to active duty and a few months after that, you showed up in Springfield, Cassie Winslow's hometown."_

"_You've been following my career."_

"_Of course I have. It was my only connection to you. Is she one of those women you gave part of your heart to?" Sam asks, looking up at him._

"_I care a great deal about Cassie, and I guess if you want to say I gave her a piece of my heart then I would have to say yes. But she loves Richard, she did when we were in San Cristobel and she does now and whatever I might have felt for her, doesn't matter."_

"_So you're saying that because she loves Richard. I have no reason to feel jealous." _

"_Well, if you want to feel a little jealous…" Sam reaches out and slaps him. "Owww."_

"_That's for thinking you'll get to watch two women fight over you. You know that has never been my style."_

"_Yes, I do. But I can…" Jeffrey saw her raise her hand. "Okay, I'll drop it."_

"_That would be a wise choice."_

"_What happened to your mom?"_

"_She died of ovarian and stomach cancer. They wouldn't take her to the doctor, kept saying that if the lord wanted to heal her, he would. We would have to have faith and pray, faith and Prayer." Sam says with a ruefully laugh. "I guess that's why I became a doctor. So I can help people, by the time I reached my mom it was too late, the cancer had spread so far that there was no way chemo or radiation could have saved her. And it was definitely beyond surgery. I had enough time to tell her that I loved her and to say good-bye."_

"_How was your brother?" Jeffrey asks, reaching over and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear._

"_Cold, would be the best way to describe Jeremiah's attitude towards me when I came home. Everyone's attitude was cold except for Gran's. I guess that's why I left again and went to Nashville. Whatever connections I had to my hometown died when my mom died. There's nothing there anymore." Sam says. "Have you gone back to your Mom's grave?"_

"_No, not since I took you there. I have a florist deliver fresh roses every birthday and at Christmas a poinsettia, but I haven't been back." _

"_I'm sure she would love to see you." Sam says, sitting down on the bed. He was used to hearing her say things like that and knew what she meant._

"_She sees me everyday." Jeffrey says, sitting down beside her._

_There were several seconds of silence before Jeffrey reaches over and turns her face towards his. "I missed you." He says, leaning over he kisses her, softly at first but then with deep burning passion, with one hand holding her cheek_

_His kiss held an immediate reaction for her, reaching up she wraps her arms around his neck as he pulls her against him, holding her tightly as they kiss. They were about to lie back across the bed, when the buzzing of her pager interrupts them. "Aw, damn it." Sam mutters as she pulls the pager off her hip and looks down at the display and realizes it is the agency and that it is an emergency._

"_What's wrong?" Jeffrey asks hoarsely, fighting to get control again._

"_It's the agency, an emergency of all nights and at all times." Sam says, looking over at him. "I have to go."_

"_Alright, I probably need to get back. William wanted to talk to me and I sort of skipped out on him." Jeffrey says, standing up and following her through the apartment to the living room as she grabs her purse and keys. They leave the apartment._

"_Do we have to call…?"_

"_No, come on." Sam says, walking to the back of the apartment. _

_In the parking lot, directly behind Sam's apartment is a 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible. Jeffrey stares at the car as Sam walks up to it, unlocking the driver's door. "Well! Are you coming?" She asks, opening the car door._

"_Where did you get this?" _

"_Actually, I had it. Well my grandfather had it. He saved it for me. When I went home, Gran gave me the keys and the title, absolutely infuriated Jeremiah, which made me happy." She replies, slipping in behind the wheel with a smile._

"_He just gave it to you." Jeffrey says, opening the door and getting in after she reaches over and unlocks the door._

"_Yes, the only changes I made were, I put in the AC, had to have that here. And I changed out the stock stereo, for a CD Changer and two 8'' woofers in the back, with 6x9 speakers in the doors and dash." Sam says, as she starts the car, and Reba comes on, and Jeffrey rolls his eyes._

"_I see your taste in music hasn't changed."_

_She smiles as she turns up the CD and starts singing to "Little Rock." As they back out of the parking space and she heads for the agency._

_ Dr. Frost meets them as they walk off the elevator. "What's going on?" Sam asks, as Dr. Frost looks between Jeffrey and her._

_ "We've got agents coming in. A bomb exploded in a warehouse in Hagerstown."_

_ "Why didn't they take them to Philadelphia? It's closer than here." Jeffrey asks_

_ "This is the best hospital in the area, besides the hospitals in Philadelphia are over run by a massive car accident on I-76."_

_ "How are they getting here?" Sam asks_

_ "They're flying them in by helicopter."_

_ "Alright, how long do we have?" Sam asks, immediately switching to crisis mode, which Jeffrey watches in amazement._

_ "ETA is about twenty minutes."_

_ "Okay, call the surgeons…"_

_ "All ready done." The head nurse replies, walking up to them._

_ "Neurology."_

_ "They've been paged two."_

_ "Then move Tompkins, Wilkins and Jacks up to the second wing." Sam orders, before she turns to Jeffrey. "I'm going to be busy for a while."_

_ "I'll just go check on Richard. And then see if William and Cassie are still around." Jeffrey says._

_ "Okay, I'll see you later." Sam says, smiling up at him._

_ "Yes." He replies, walking towards Richard's room as Sam turns back to head nurse._

_ "What was that about?" she asks, watching Sam._

_ "Nothing." Sam replies, but she can't hide the slight blush that stains her cheeks._

_ "Umm hmm." The nurse replies. "I've already contacted the Red Cross and they're sending over as much O- as they can spare. This is exactly why more people need to donate blood."_

_ "You're preaching to the choir, Mary." _

_ "Inbound, two minutes." One of the nurses calls._

_ "Okay people, places." Sam calls as the staff converges on the hallway leading to the elevator._

_ Two minutes later, the first of the three agents were wheeled off the elevator. It is the one with the head wound, Sam sends it to neurology. There isn't much she can do for him. About a minute later, the second victim is wheeled off the elevator. He has pieces of shrapnel in his chest from the explosion. The paramedics stabilized him as much as they could. But the shrapnel has punctured both lungs and nicked his heart along with his small intestine and spleen._

_ "I need a chest and abdominal x-ray stat, hook him up to O- as well." Sam says, as she reaches over and brushes back the hair from his forehead. She can see the shock and terror starting to settle in the agent's eyes. "You're going to be fine."_

_ "Take care of Megan, she can't die." The agent whispers before he starts to cough._

_ "She'll be fine." Sam says, turning to the nurse. "Get him on oxygen too. And get some blankets on him, he's going into shock."_

_ "Yes ma'am." The nurse replies, as the last gurney is rolled off the elevator._

_ She is shocked at the woman laying on the gurney, and amazed that she is alive. Her chest is riddled with piece of shrapnel. She had several lacerations to her stomach and intestines, along with a ruptured spleen and kidney. Her lungs looked like they had been punctured by the explosion as well. But thankfully only one was punctured and the shrapnel had missed her heart, Sam realizes after a quick examination. _

_ "Get her up to the O.R. stat!" Sam orders not even taking the time to order any x-ray's._

_ While Sam is busy with the new patients, Jeffrey is with Richard. "I don't know what to say to you?" Jeffrey says, sitting down beside Richard's bed._

_ "I want to thank you for taking care of Cassie after the accident. I was worried about her. I know I was unconscious but I knew that she would be lost, especially since we were just getting settled into Springfield and starting our lives. But even though I was here and she wasn't I knew she was alright, some how I knew. I knew you would come and look out for her, make sure she was alright. She can be stubborn, but I think you're just as stubborn. I appreciate you looking after her." _

_ "I don't know how well a job I did of that." Jeffrey says, looking away._

_ "She's alive, she looks like she doing fine and I know that it's because you were there, protecting her and I could not be more thankful."_

_ "Looks can be deceiving; these last five years have been hell on her." _

"_But you were there, you kept her safe." _

"_I did the best I could, when I could. She didn't make it easy."_

"_No, I don't suppose she did. But it wasn't just you protecting her. Reva was there and Josh. She had her family and the kids. I can't imagine what RJ and Will look like. I know he's with Alon… William. I keep forgetting that. And Tammy, I'm sure she's quite the lady now."_

"_The boys are fine. But there were a few times when I wasn't sure she would be." _

_ "Why?" Richard asks._

_ "Just some of the people she chose to hang around with. She's not an easy woman to look after."_

_ "No, she's not. She has a mind of her own."_

_ There are a couple minutes of silence before Jeffrey spoke again, bringing up the subject that had been bothering him since he'd heard about Camille and that Richard was awake. "You know that she knows about my time in San Cristobel." Jeffrey says, he could tell by the look on Richard's face that he hadn't realized that Cassie knew._

_ "No, I didn't."_

_ "I had to tell her." Jeffrey says, feeling a little uncomfortable._

_ "Okay?" Richard says, watching him._

_ "I guess there's no easy way to tell you this, but Cassie and I…"_

_ "You're together?"_

_ "No, no not anymore. But we were for a while, a short while a very short while. Right after her and Edmund broke up."_

_ "Edmund, what was she doing with Edmund?"_

"_I couldn't get to Springfield right after the accident, because I was in New York. When I did, she and Edmund were a couple, that's what I meant when I said she made it hard to protect her."_

"_Cassie was with Edmund. She wouldn't do that?"_

"_He made her believe that he had changed. He told her that he'd changed because of your death."_

"_And Cassie bought that, she's smarter than that." Richard says, staring at Jeffrey in shock._

"_She is, but she was going through something she never thought in a million years she would have to face again. You were gone, and with you went all the dreams you both had together. She needed someone to hold on to and for a while she thought that was Edmund. Even though, her gut was telling her something different, she chose not to listen. She was hurting Richard." Jeffrey says, pleading with him to understand. "Anyway, after Edmund showed his true colors, Cassie came to me."_

_ "What do you mean his true colors? Cassie has always been able to see right through Edmund."_

_ "Yes, well. Either Edmund got better at lying or Cassie was looking to hang on to you."_

"_So she turned to my brother, the man that locked her in a tower. That killed our child. That did so many other terrible things." Richard says. "This was just an affair; please tell me this was just an affair that was over in a few months."_

"_He convinced Cassie that he had changed and because of that she married him."_

_ "She married Edmund."_

_ "For a short time." Jeffrey says. "By this time I was in Springfield, and Edmund resorted to what he always resorts to when he feels threatened. And he felt threatened by me. _

_ "What did he do?" _

_ "He hit me over the head with a shovel while the barn was on fire. He had every intention of leaving me there but for some reason he came back and pulled me out. From there things sort of snowballed and it ended up with Edmund and Dinah…"  
"Dinah, the Dinah Marler. The one that shot Hart."_

_ "Yes, Dinah came back to Springfield and she was still intent on getting everything Cassie had, including Edmund."_

_ "Well, those two seem to fit each other."_

_ "They did for a while. Edmund convinced Cassie to have a child with him."_

_ "Oh god! Edmund a father, what was she thinking?"_

_ "I don't think she was, at least not clearly, anyway Edmund convinced Cassie to have a child with him through IVF only before Cassie could have the procedure done and it take she found out about Edmund trying to kill me and she left him. While she was away, Dinah convinced Edmund to have the embryo's implanted in her without Cassie's consent and the procedure took. To make an even longer story short. Dinah lost the baby, so she tried to get Edmund to sleep with her, he wouldn't, she staged a kidnapping and that's when Cassie and I got together."_

_ "How?"_

_ "She caught Edmund standing over Dinah after the kidnapping with a pitch fork like he was going to stab her with it. At the time we didn't know that she had lost the baby because she was wearing a pregnancy pillow, so Cassie thought she was still pregnant and she thought that Edmund was crazy enough… I guess that's the only way to describe it… she thought he was crazy enough to kill the woman carrying his child. After that Cassie didn't want anything more to do with him and she filed for divorce. He tried to manipulate her into coming back to him by using Will as a pawn with William."_

_ "That's why Alon… William wanted Will back in San Cristobel." _

_ "Mostly, his advisors were pressuring him to bring Will back, but Cassie being with Edmund sort of sealed the deal, even though Edmund was given your job as Ambassador."_

_ "He was Ambassador at large for San Cristobel."  
"Yes, Alexandria Spaulding got him that job. So it was really bought and not given. When William found out that Edmund had used Will in a plot to get Cassie back, he was arrested and thrown into prison in San Cristobel."_

_ "He's still there."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "And all this happened while I was here?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "Is there anything else?_

_ "Ahhh, yes but it's not my place to tell you that and I probably shouldn't have told you about Edmund. Although I'm sure Cassie would have eventually."_

_ "So there's more."_

_ "Sort of, I will tell you the other part that involves me. And why I had to tell Cassie about my time with in you in San Cristobel."_

"_Beside the fact that you slept with my wife."_

_ "Actually, I slept with her more than once."_

_ "More than once!"_

_ Jeffrey knew this would upset him, but it was started he figured he would have to finish it. "I slept with Cassie when I was in San Cristobel, posing as you." Jeffrey says as Richard stares at him. _

_ "No, that's not possible. I never left you with her for that long."_

_ "There was one time, after the dinner for the British Ambassador. That's why we're not together anymore, and that's why I had to tell her about my time in San Cristobel. Josh found out that I was there, he told Cassie, and I had to tell her the rest. After that she couldn't forgive me…"_

_ "I don't know if I can forgive you. I trusted you." Richard says. "I thought we were pretty good friends."_

_ "We were, we are and I tried. I really did. When I realized that I was in love with her I asked the agency to transfer me, but they refused the request. They said, I had to stay till the job was over, I couldn't leave. So, I spent as little time as I could with Cassie when I was posing as you. It was only one time Richard."_

_ "It was one time too many. Why didn't you tell me?"_

_ "How was I supposed to tell you? That speech was great, thankfully no one tried to kill you, oh and by the way, I'm in love with your wife." Jeffrey says, getting up and walking over to the window. After a few minutes of silence Jeffrey turns around. "This wasn't her fault."_

_ "I know it wasn't. You took advantage of her."_

_ "Yes, I did. But the rest of it, Edmund, it wasn't her fault. She was lost after the accident. It tore her world up, and I think she was looking for anyway to stay connected to you, that is why she believed Edmund so quickly, why he was able to trick her into believing that he had changed. I think she turned to me, well that's fairly obvious."_

_ "I think you need to go. I need to think." Richard replies, quietly_

_ "Okay, but please Richard don't turn your back on her. She couldn't handle it, not after everything that's happened." Jeffrey says, pleading with him._

_ "I'm not going to turn my back on Cassie, I love her. But I have to talk to her about this. As for you, I don't know. I thought we were pretty good friends and now I find out you took advantage of that friendship by sleeping with my wife. If I could get out of this bed, I'd…"_

_ Jeffrey nods, getting the picture loud and clear. "I'll go." He says, walking towards the door._

_ "That would be a good idea, before I do try to get out of this bed." _

_ Opening the door, Jeffrey walks out. Letting the door close behind him, he leans back against the wall and closes his eyes. Sam finds him like that a few minutes later. _

_ "Hey, are you okay?" She asks._

_ "I'm fine. I just need to get out of here." Jeffrey says, slowly standing up_

_ "Okay, but I can't leave for a few more hours." Sam says. "Not till they're settled and stabilize."_

_ "That's fine. I need to talk to Cassie anyway."_

_ "Cassie."_

_ "Yes, I need to give her a heads up of sorts."_

_ "About what?"_

_ "I can't get into it here." _

_ "Okay." Sam replies, watching him for a few seconds before she asks. "Are you really okay?"_

_ "I'll be fine." Jeffrey says, reaching for and hugging her tightly._

_ "I'm worried about you. Are you sure you're alright?" Sam asks, leaning back and looking up._

_ "I'll be fine. I promise. I'll see you tomorrow morning."_

_ "Sure, I'll probably be here all night." Sam says, leaning up to kiss him._

_ "I'll go back to my hotel after I talk to Cassie. Try to get some sleep tonight."_

_ "Okay." Sam says, as Jeffrey releases her and turns towards the elevator. Richard is watching through the window in the door as Sam and Jeffrey hug and then he leaves._

_ "I can't believe he slept with Cassie. I trusted him." Richard thought, lying back in the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "Maybe it would be better if I went back into the coma… No, Cassie needs me. I've been away long enough." Richard thought. "But he slept with my wife. He took advantage of her." "But he said he loved her." "If he loved her he wouldn't have taken advantage of her." "Thing's happen, he tried to walk away." "Maybe he did, but he still took advantage of her and me. We are… were friends. I trusted him." All these thoughts are rolling around in Richard's head as he lays back and closes his eyes._

_About six hours later all three patients are back down on the ward, and in the rooms that Sam had ordered vacated. During surgery, Megan had crashed twice but the surgeon was able to bring her back. They also found that she had been about six weeks pregnant, whether she knew or not they wouldn't know until they told her that the baby hadn't survived. _

_Her partner had done considerably better. They had repaired the nick in his heart and the puncture in his lungs along with removing his spleen and repairing the damage to his intestines. The agent with the head wound, turned out to be a superficial cut. But he had been hit several times in the head by falling debris. All three were hooked up to monitors, and neurology was monitoring the agent with the head injury for swelling and possible bleeding in the brain. If the pressure got to be too great, they would have to go in and relieve some of the pressure. _

_Sam is looking over their charts when her mind wonders to Jeffrey and what was going on between him and Richard. She starts to put the charts down and go talk to Richard, but then she thought about it and decided to talk to Jeffrey first._

10.16


End file.
